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BY. 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC, 



What to see, and How to see it. 



BY 



JOHN ERASTUS LESTER, 

AUTHOR OF "the YQ-SEMITE : ITS HISTORYj ITS SCENERY, ITS 



DEVELOPMENT.' 



fTHiyt 



BOSTON: j 
SHEPARD AND GILL. 
1873. 




lObiEMITE MmM. 



SCALE 



J Mcuifr s^r* r.^i. * <». . - ^^^. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, 

By SHEPARD & GILL, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



<< 






Stereotyped by C. J. Peters & Son, 
5 Washington Street. 



TO 

THEOPHILUS E. sickels, 

General Superintendent and Engineer of the Union Pacific R.R. 

hx ilHemorg at 

PLEASANT DAYS PASSED IN THE EAST, 
AS WELL AS IN THE WEST. 



PEEFAOE. 



Ik searcli of health, in the early spring of 1872, 
I turned my face from the Atlantic to the Pa- 
cific ; and in the following pages I propose to 
tell of my journey. The task which I have 
allotted to myself is to so inform my readers, 
that, should they journey to California, they 
would know " what to see, and how to see it." 
Many circumstances conspired to give me pecu- 
liar advantages for learning of the people who 
dwell there, as well as for viewing tlie country, 
and beholding the magnificent scenery. These 
advantages I trust I have turned to account in 
forming correct judgments. 

Parts of this book have appeared in The 
Providence Uvenin// Press^ in a series of letters 
under the caption of "Across the Continent:" 



6 PBEFACB. 

but they have been thoroughly revised ; and de- 
scriptions of Colorado, and of gold and silver min- 
ing, forming several chapters, have been added. 
A full Appendix, containing much useful informa- 
tion, has also found a place in the volume. 

There are very many Americans familiar with 
Europe, who know of our Great West only by 
hearsa}^ ; and there are many people, who, if they 
could only be informed upon the way to make the 
trip, would gladly set out for the Pacific ; and 
there are others who can find only time and means 
to read of the journey. To these several classes 
I have tried to address myself. 

A book has been described as " a letter to one's 
unknown friends ; " and it is with that spirit that 
this little volume is sent forth on its mission. 

J. E. L. 

Providexce, April, 1873. 



"Westward ! 



CHAPTER I. 

General Plan of the Letters. — The Several Routes from the East to 
Chicago. — The Erie Road. 

I PROPOSE^ in a series of letters, to describe not only 
the points of interest in a journey to California, but to 
speak of the way to see them. The Eastern man, riding 
npon an express-train, with head full of plans for money- 
making, sees little of the country. A Western man 
travels upon slower trains ; and his object is to observe 
the advantages and peculiarities of the country, both 
with an eye to investment, and to give information to 
others. To accomplish any result in gaining facts by 
railroad travel, one should study well the history and 
geography of the States through which the road passes ; 
then the location of towns, of rivers, and hills, as well as 
the general characteristics of the country, will be ob- 

7 



8 THE ATLANTIC 

served and remembered. A little time thus employed 
before beginning a journey often saves mucli disappoint- 
ment, and really changes what otherwise would have 
been a very disagreeable ride to a pleasant journey. 

In starting for California, one must study well his 
journey, and decide his route to Omaha; for to this point 
the various lines all compete for favor. 

There are three lines to Chicago, — the Erie, New- 
York Central, and the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the 
connecting lines of each. 

From Boston or Providence one can reach Albany 
over the old route, and there connect with the train from 
New York. 

The morning trains out of New York all carry draw- 
ing-room and sleeping cars, which make the journey 
much more pleasant. 

The Erie Road offers man}^ attractions. Its coaches 
are very wide, elegant, and, for easy riding, unsurpassed. 
These, added to the beauty of the scenery, make it a 
desirable route. 

The road passes along the Delaware River, often far 
above its waters, with mountains towering upon either 
side ; their faces now cleft from solid rocks, now covered 
with fine forests. Then, again, the road runs along its 
bank, the rich bottom-lands stretching far away. From 
Port Jervis to Susquehanna, we run along this river, 



TO THE PACIFIC. 9 

then we enter the valley of the Susquehanna River; and 
a richer country than from here to Hornellsville you 
cannot find. Broad fields, rolling uplands, neat farm- 
houses, meet the view on every side. The road, just 
before it reaches Binghampton, passes over the Starucca 
Valley, one of the most picturesque places I have ever 
visited. This valley reminds one of Lyndwyllyn in 
Wales. From Hornellsville, by an uninteresting ride, 
Buffalo is reached, where the Lake-shore Eoad starts 
for Cleveland, from whence lines diverge west and 
south-west. Niagara Falls and Suspension Bridge are 
reached from Buffalo. 

We reach Chicago, and find ourselves in the busy, 
hurrying, noisy marts of trade. Although her business- 
houses were nearly all destroyed by the great fire, tem- 
porary structures were erected, to which merchandise t>f 
every kind poured in from the East ; our faith being un- 
shaken that Chicago must be a great city, the key to 
the great Korth-west. Now many permanent buildings 
are already erected, and nearly ready for occupancy. 
Some are architecturally fine ; but it seems that the peo- 
ple are determined to build more substantially than 
before, expending less in mere ornamentation. Wan- 
dering around through streets once familiar to us, we 
often lost our way ; and, had the walls of the court- 
house not remained, there would not have been any 



10 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

thing to tell us of this once famed section of the city. 
Trade will undoubtedly be somewhat changed ; two of 
the largest dry-goods firms having moved west nearly a 
mile from^the once centre of this interest. Wabash 
Avenue will undoubtedly be the Broadway of the 
city ; State will have the banks ; and the streets run- 
ning west between Lake and Van Buren, as far as the 
river, will all be built up with business-houses, thus 
spreading trade over a much larger space, and equalizing 
values of real estate. Such pluck and energy were 
never before shown by the business-men of a city seem- 
ingly so utterly destroyed as was Chicago by the fire. 
Most of the merchants to whom credit was given have 
kept their promises ; and business is seemingly in a 
healthy condition. 

To connect with the lines west from Chicago, leave 
ISTew York by the night-trains over either road, reaching 
that city the second morning after, in time for the early 
trains, which are the regular Pacific expresses. Leaving 
by the morning expresses out of New York, it will be 
better to stay over in Chicago, where a day or two can 
be very pleasantly passed in looking over the track of 
the fire. 

But we must push on westward towards Omaha, that 
wonder in citf/-hm\dmg. 



CHAPTER 11. 

The Three Routes from Chicago to Omaha. — A Ride through 
Northern Iowa. 

From Chicago yon start upon the jonrney west, and 
have the choice of three routes, all reaching Council 
Bluffs about the same time. The North-western, the 
Rock Island, and the Burlington and Quincy Roads offer 
about equal advantages ; and, as these companies share 
equally the profits of the through business, competition, 
which so well serves the public, is lacking. The first 
road crosses the Mississippi at Clinton, the second at 
Rock Island, and the last at Burlington. As I desired 
to see the rich corn-lands of Iowa, I chose the first, and 
took the 9.45, p.m., train, and, having given the porter 
directions to call me at the river, retired to a cleanly- 
looking bed, and was soon a^sleep. 

The light was just bret^king in the east when we 

looked out of the car-window. We soon reached Fulton, 

and crossed the river to Clinton. The bridge is in two 

sections ; an island about the centre of the river dividing 

11 



12 THE ATLANTIC 

it. The first section is of iron, the last of wood, both 
together more than a mile in length. This point is 
about two tliousancl miles from the mouth of the river, 
which is navigable for more than four hundred miles 
farther north, — noble river, bearing upon its bosom the 
products of the rich valley in its march to old ocean ! 

From Clinton to Mt. Vernon we pass through the 
" garden of Iowa." The comfortable brick and frame 
houses, the well-built barns, the fences, the sleek cattle, 
all smack of thrift and wealth. Here the land is roll- 
ing, well watered, and as productive as on the prairies 
of Illinois. They say out here, that when a farmer gets 
his lands paid for, and a little ahead, he builds a hrlck 
house. This section is by far the fairest I have seen 
West, and reminds one of the country seen in passing 
from Liverpool to London. 

After we reach Cedar Eiver, the characteristics of the 
country change. Cedar Rapids is a busy place, where 
the river offers good facilities for water-power. Leaving 
this place, we reach again j)i'airie-lands. For the last 
two hundred miles, the wheat looks well ; and the farm- 
ers are hurrying in their corn. Through Indiana and 
Illinois the wheat was badly winter-killed 5 and the j)oor 
prospects for a crop have sent up the price. 

The low price of corn has forced the farmers into 
raising swine. The corn now in store is placed in tern- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 13 

porary cribs erected along the line of the raih'oad. At 
one pLace there were more than a hundred thousand 
bushels thus piled to be shipped East. 

Marshall, a town of some importance, two hun- 
dred and eighty-nine miles west of Chicago, suffered 
from a terrible fire on Saturday last, when the ele- 
vator, depot, hotels, and several stores, were de- 
stroyed. This was the terminus of the road until 
the Union Pacific was begun ; and from here to " The 
Bluffs" we are in a new country, passing through 
prairies where plough has never been, and with only here 
and there a dwelling. Along the old stage-road you 
see the " schooners," as they call the emigrant wagons, 
wending their way west. Along with them are sturdy 
men and women who are to develop the country. 

One must bear in mind that we are passing along a 
section which was, but a few years ago, an unknown 
land, whose hidden wealth is now to be brought forth 
to add to the unprecedented prosperity of the Great 
West. 

Passing along by Colo, one is in the section of the 
great tornado of last year ; and a gentleman familiar 
with the country told me that the ^^ wind blew so hard 
here, that it would open a jack-knife in one's pocket." I 
cannot say that he gave me a very good idea by his 
description. 



14 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

One meets the dwellers from the east of the Missis- 
sippi, going to the Far West, because Illinois and Ohio 
have become too thickly settled, as thej^ say. They all 
seemed bent upon the mission of developing the re- 
sources of the country, and to do this are willing to 
leave their homes. There was upon our train a gentle- 
man, some eighty years old, who emigrated to the 
North-west before there were any States called Ohio, 
Illinois, or Indiana ; and to hear the old pioneer recount 
his adventures was very interesting. He was now going 
upon a journey to the West, to visit some of his grand- 
children, of whom he had twenty-eight scattered 
through the country around. 

But we are nearing "The Bluffs;" the great Missouri 
is to be crossed ; and we must prepare to disembark from 
this car, for as yet no satisfactory arrangement has been 
made to take the cars of the Eastern roads across the 
bridge. The opening of the Northern Pacific will per- 
haps force the Union to better serve its patrons. Our 
train is slowing for this city of the Indian councils 
held in the days before railroads were known. 



CHAPTER III. 

The Cities of Council Bluffs and Omaha at First Sight. 

To make close connection with tlie train upon the 
Union-Pacific Eoad, we must leave Chicago upon the 
morning express. As there is some difficulty in making 
close connections from east of New York, it is better to 
stay over at Chicago, rest, and then take a fresh start. 
By all means avoid the night-express out of Chicago, 
if you consult your ease in travelling. Upon the day- 
trains, you will have a chance to examine one of these 
odd contrivances, a hotel-car. 



the seat of Pottawattomie County, Iowa, is situated 

about three miles east of the river. The Missouri 

here, as all along its course, is the same treacherous 

stream, changing its channel so often, that navigation is 

extremely difficult and dangerous. The city contains 

some ten thousand people, and is the oldest and largest 

in Western Iowa. Formerly, and as early as 1846, it 

15 



16 THE ATLANTIC 

was called Kauosville, and was chiefly peopled b}' 
Mormons. From the circumstance that here the ex- 
plorers Lewis and Clarke held a council with the 
Indians, it was named, in the charter of incorporation, 
Council Bluffs ; but the people round about always call 
the place " The Bluffs." It is the western terminus of 
the Eastern roads, and has made a hard fight for the 
eastern terminus of the Union Pacific. For the time 
being, this difficulty, which has made so much trouble 
between the two cities, is allayed by introducing a new 
corporation, called the "Transfer Company," whose 
province is to put passengers to all sorts of incon- 
venience and trouble in crossing over the river. More 
routes to California will remedy this, as well as other 
annoyances. 

The several newspapers published here, a seminary 
for young ladies, a high school, good district schools, 
and many fine churches, all contribute to the welfare of 
the people. 

Crossing the river upon a fine bridge built upon iron 
caissons sunken in the river-bed, and resting upon solid 
rock, we are set down in the wonderful city of 

OMAHA. 

It is situated about fifty feet above the river at high- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 17 

water mark, and contains a population estimated at from 
ten to twelve thousand people. So changing is its popu- 
lation, that there can be but little dependence put in the 
figures stated. In its palmier days, probably there were 
sixteen thousand people gathered here : to-day I hardly 
believe there are more tlian nine thousand. It was the 
first capital of the State, as it was, indeed, the first 
settlement made in the Territory. A. D. Jones and a 
few other squatters were here in 1854 ; and, some time in 
that year, he was appointed postmaster, and immediately 
opened an office " in the crown of his hat." Riding 
over the prairies, or strolling about the infant settle- 
ment, he would deliver the letters which had collected 
in tlie "'office." The town began to gain in 1859; and 
the commencement of the Union Pacific gave it fresh 
means for increase ; and day b}^ day it grew at wonder- 
ful speed. Stores and houses, hotels and " saloons." 
were erected ; and a few months saw the straggling 
settlement a busy, humming citj^, over-crowded with ad- 
venturers. All the material for the building of the 
railroad was shipped from here : so that material wealth 
was added to the city. As the road pushed west, the 
villages which were established took away the popula- 
tion of the city ; and graduallj^ tlie place lost its over- 
crowded look ; demand for buildings ceased ; and to-day 

the city is quite a tame afiair, with more unoccupied 
2* 



18 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

buildings than I ever before saw in any one place. The 
great hotel erected by the " quixotic Train " is closed ; 
and it would seem that the dreams and hopes of "- this 
modern philosopher " were not to be realized. But, not- 
withstanding all this, the place is a wonderful example 
of what can be done in this country in the way of city 
building in the short space of eight years. 

Along the streets there are some substantial brick 
buildings ; but, for the most part, they are one-story 
framed houses. 

The military department of the Platte has its head- 
quarters here. The barracks are located about three 
miles north of the city, were established in 1868, and 
can accommodate a thousand men. This is a fine place 
to see the elite of the city, who drive out to witness the 
reviews upon pleasant days. 

From the descriptions which I had read, I expected 
to find a little more of the " substantial " in the place. 
Passable streets surely might have been expected ; but 
mud and filth quite prevent walking, and almost forbid 
riding. Of course, during the summer the streets be- 
come dry ; but some means should be devised to make 
them passable for persons on foot. 

Just at the depot upon the starting of the train west 
at half-past eleven, A.M., and the arrival of the train at 
half-past one, p.m., there is all the bustle and confusion 
of a great railroad junction. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

What is seen and heard in the First Day's Journey upon the Union 
Pacific — The Stations. — The Indians. — Our Food. — The 
State of Nebraska. 

At Omaha our journey upon the Union-Pacific Koad 
begins. But one train leaves daily, running through to 
the Pacific. Taking a section in a Pullman car, we are 
entitled to enjoy a drawing-room by day, and a bed by 
night. These cars are comfortable, cleanly, and the 
attaches, for the most part, polite and accommodating. 
A throng of strange faces are around us ; and all are 
busily engaged in preparations for the journey. 

^' All aboard ! " is cried : a whistle from the engine is 
heard ; the train moves ; and we are off for the Far West. 

Por three or four miles we pass along the bluffs upon 

which Omaha is built, and then push out into the open 

prairie, the fertile lands of Nebraska. A vast plain, 

dotted here and there with trees, stretches away upon 

everj^ side. Upon this broad prairie, at long intervals, 

the cabin of the hardy frontiersman is seen, and now 

19 



20 THE ATLANTIC 

and then a sturdy yeoman^ with team of four, breaking 
up the rich soil for the first planting. 

We pass -Gilmore, and reach Papillion, where the 
train from the West awaits us upon the siding. Run- 
ning along the Elkhorn River, we soon come in view of 
the hills to the south-west, w]iich hound the Platte 
Valley; and, just before reaching Fremont, we catch our 
first view of the Platte River, along the banks of which, 
now upon the left, and then crossing to the right, we 
keep our way as far as North Platte. The old emigrant 
road followed this valley, and crossed the river at old 
" Shinn's Ferry," near the station of Lone Tree. 

Our day's journey brings us to Grand Island, named 
i?fter an island in the Platte. Some five hundred 
people are gathered here, many connected with the rail- 
road. This is an "eating station." So far, our ride 
has been pleasant ; and we have become acquainted with 
each other. In our car we have the genial Langford 
of Montana, who has so graphicall}^ described for us the 
Yellowstone Valley ; a corps of engineers going out 
upon the line of the Northern Pacific to push forward 
that highway througli that hitherto unexplored region ; 
several ladies from our own city; gentlemen from New 
York and Boston, Chicago, and the Western cities, — all 
genial, and all readj'- to contribute to the happiness of 
each other. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 21 

Two other Pullmans are ahead of our car, each 
filled with tourists. As the evening came on. the 
ladies and gentlemen of the " Berger-family Troupe '' 
visited our car, and gave us a concert, both vocal and 
instrumental. Our car contains an organ, in as good 
order as the jarring will permit, for our entertainment. 

Music sounds upon the prairie, and dies away far over 
the plains ; merry-making and jokes, conversation and 
reading, pass the time pleasantly till ten. o'clock, when 
we retire, to awake in the morning far out on the 
"plains." 

We reach Sydney for breakfast, and push on to 
Bushnell, where we leave Nebraska. 

While in Europe, I was often asked if I had seen a 
"wild Indian," — one who carried a tomahawk, painted 
his face, and wore feathers in his cap. To the common 
people in the rural districts of England, their idea of 
the people of America is, tliat we all are " Indians," and 
they all evince great desire to see them ; while among 
the better classes you are closely questioned about the 
red men of the forests. Of course, we could give but a 
faint idea of a " wild Indian ; " and we have not been 
helped by the sight of the few "Pawnee" who came 
around us at Grand Island, saying, " Good squaw ! " 
"Good Injun ! " "Give five cents ! " 

We have passed through the length of the great State 



22 THE ATLANTIC 

of Nebraska, over wliose broad acres tbe fleet antelope 
runs, and tbe little prairie-dog digs its boles, and makes 
its cities. The broad valleys furnish immense grazing- 
fields ; the river-bottoms, rich farming-lands ; and the 
high ground along the road, sites for towns and villages. 
As the road pushed out from Omaha, each place, for a 
time, became the terminus, and was the point where con- 
gregated all the roughs and desperadoes. A large town 
would grow up in a few weeks, and in as short a time 
pass away ; the deserted houses and cabins now telling 
of departed glory and ruined business. 

Through the State we follow along near the path over 
which the pioneers of 1848 pushed on to the gold-fields 
of California, and whose track is marked here and there 
by the solitary graves of those whose strength failed. 

Between the settlers over the prairies and Omaha 
people, there is great antipathy, caused by the unbounded 
growth of the city. The sturdy farmer tells you of the 
great sins of the " Omahogs ; " and in the city they sing 
their own praise, and speak of all the State outside as 
peopled with " Nebraskals." 

At Antelope, four liundred and fifty-one miles west of 
Omaha, we have our first view of the Rocky Mountains, 
whose snow-capped peaks rise high above the Black 
Hills, often hiding themselves in the clouds. To these 
mountains we look anxiously, as they seem impassable ; 



TO THE PACIFIC. 23 

and we await with eager eye to behold the triumph of 
the engineer who has laid the track for the iron horse 
over their very summit. 

Many who have written of their journey have praised 
the " eating stations," as they are called ; but to us the 
food is ill cooked and poorly served. A free ticket to 
dinner may have found aroma in the cup of chiccory, 
comfort in the burned steak, and solace in the black 
bread. The company would favor their patrons by re- 
forming this part of their service. Still, do not take a 
lunch-basket ; for it is always in the way. A man who 
had such an institution, from which every now and then 
was taken the rich food for the repast, to the evident 
discomfort of the other passengers, with a devilled ham, 
a devilled chicken, a devilled turkey and all the fixings, 
tired at last with carrying about the great basket, ex- 
claimed, '' Wife, I wish all these devilled things were to 
the Devil!'' 

But we are already out of Nebraska ; and we must 
make our notes of the young Territory of Wyoming. 



CHAPTEE V. 

The Territory of Wyoming. — The Rocky Mountains. — Sherman, 
the Highest Raih-oad Point on the Continent. — Laramie City. 
— The Woman Jury. — Great and Little Laramie Plains. 

We now enter the young Territory of Wyoming; and 
in a ride of thirty-five miles we reach Cheyenne. We 
have passed through the Lodge Pole Creek Yalle}^, 
which abounds with herds of antelope, and where are 
found deer, bears, and wolves. Just before we reach the 
city, we see directly before us the Rocky Mountains, 
which stand, with their huge, dark sides against the sky. 
Fifty miles to the south of Hillsdale, on the South 
Platte River, is the often-described Fremont grove of 
cotton wood- trees. 

This city of Cheyenne is the terminus of the second 
division of the road (the first extending to North 
Platte), and is also the junction of the Denver Pacific 
Railroad. A few houses around the de236t, the company's 
buildings, and a few scattered over the plain, form the 
city, where, a few years ago, a defiant mob held sway, 

24 



TO THE rACIFIC. 25 

and all the roughs from the States fouud a home. This 
station is the nearest to Fort Russell: so that we see 
many of Uncle Sam's boys who have come in to wel 
come their friends from the East. 

This place is five hundred and sixteen miles from 
Omaha, twelve hundred and sixty from Sacramento, 
and a hundred and ten from Denver. On the 4th of 
July, 1867, a single house occupied the site of the city ; 
whicli afterwards, at one time, had six thousand inhabit- 
ants. Two papers are published here; and the people 
tell you that this is to become a large city. But I 
apprehend that the removal of the military post would 
witness the downfall of Cheyenne as a great city, al- 
though it must, for a long time, remain as the dis- 
tributing depot for the freight destined for Colorado and 
New Mexico. 

Many of our friends leave us here ; and, amid many 
adieus, the signal is given for us to start for the summit 
of the mountains. 

We now begin to go up hill b}'- a steep grade ; and we 
pass the quarries in Granite Union Canon at seven 
thousand two hundred and ninety-eight feet elevation. 
Wild, rugged, and grand are the hills which surround 
us. Two engines, with difficulty, are drawing our train 
up the mountain-side. Away from us on every hand 
float great masses of vapor, out of which, now and then, 



26 THE ATLANTIC 

come the snow-clad hill-tops. Again, all is one sea of 
fleecy cloucls, to which we seem so near, that we could 
reach the floating mass. To the south-west, above the 
broad, dark line, rise the sunlit sides of Long's Peak. 
Never, till this moment, did I realize the truthfulness of 
Bierstadt's scenery of these hills. The dark, deep shad- 
ow, the glistening sides, and the snow-capped peaks, with 
their granite faces, the stunted growth of pine and 
cedar, all render the scene such as he has painted it. 

Snow-banks twelve feet deep are along the road ; and 
in the ravines between the mountains it must be much 
deeper. By slow stages we reach Sherman, at an eleva- 
tion of eight thousand two hundred and forty- two feet 
above tide-water. This point is a mile and a half 
above the water in Narragansett Bay ; and here the rail- 
road reaches its highest elevation on this continent. A 
severe storm prevails ; and, if one should desire to paint 
desolation, here is the scene for him. The necessities of 
the road alone keep a few people about the station. In 
the distance are seen Long's and Pike's Peaks, with the 
Elk Mountains to the north. 

At this point the air is so rarified, that there is some 
difficulty in breatliing ; but still all the time while the 
train is here ought to be occupied in walking about the 
station, observing the different rock-formations and 
the little mountain-flowers, which, with their tiny 



TO THE PACIFIC. 27 

blooms, greet the eye of the tourist, reminding him of 
their more gaudy sisters which dwell in the valleys. 
There have been formed and classified some three hun- 
dred varieties of plants upon the plateaus called Chey- 
enne and Laramie Plains. 

From Sherman to Laramie the train runs without 
steam, down a grade of forty-seven and a half feet per 
mile, controlled by the air-brake. Dale-Creek Bridge is 
a noble piece of trestle-work, one hundred and twenty-six 
feet high, spanning a picturesque valley, through which 
trickles the creek. 

Now the fantastic red sandstone rocks appear, rearing 
their spires, domes, and castles from fi.ve hundred to a 
thousand feet above us upon the hillsides. The water, 
having washed away the loose material, has left the hard 
rock, whose form has named a station, — Eed Buttes. 
To the south we see the mountain-range of Medicine 
Bow, among whose deep serrated sides are found the 
springs which feed the Laramie E-iver. 

We are now approaching Laramie City, — the end of a 
division, the proposed site of extensive railroad-shops, 
and quite a busy place, the natural outlet of the Lara- 
mie Plain, which is now opened up as a great grazing 
field, over which even now thousands of cattle are 
roaming. 

Several churches, schools, and a paper, tell of pros- 



28 THE ATLANTIC 

perity. The people around the station are more intelli- 
gent-looking than at any other place since leaving 
Omaha. A good hotel has been erected by the com- 
pany ; and you have here a good meal, both well cooked 
and well served. 

This is the place where sat the first jury of women 
the world ever witnessed, who heard and decided a cause 
under the forms of law. It is said that they all invoked 
Heaven's aid in making up their verdict. How far the 
household duties were neglected during the trial is not 
told ; but their obedient husbands, who staid at home to 
mind the children, sang away the hours with, — 

" Nice little baby, don't get in a fury, 
'Cause mamma's gone to sit on the jury." 

Laramie Plain is a broad expanse of country of great 
fertility, well watered by the river and by a fine clear 
lake. Flowers of before unseen shape and color cover 
the fields, furnishing a gay carpet for the lovely land- 
scape around us. At this station, and all west of here, 
we shall see the "John Chinamen"' as road -hands. 
We pass Lookout, Kock Creek, Como, from eafch of 
which places the broad rolling prairies stretch far away. 
We now strike into the coal-country 5 and at Carbon 
Station some three hundred men are employed, bringing 
to the surface the hitherto unknown coal-deposits for ship- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 29 

meiit as far east as Omaha. During the night we pass 
out of this region ; and morning finds us upon the banks 
of Green River, where begins the Little Laramie Phun. 

Green-river Station is now a deserted city, once a 
noted station on the overland road, from which point 
many an exploring expedition has started forth. 

A poor breakfast is taken at this place ; and, after a 
stop of thirty minutes, we push away to the west. 

The sun has risen brightly upon this sabbath day, to 
liglit up the deep ravines through which we are to find 
our way down into the Salt Lake Basin. We have ar- 
ranged to hold a service commemorative of the day ; 
and, amid the grand scenery of these everlasting hills, 
our praises will go up to " Him who has created all 

things." 

3* 



CHAPTEE VL 

Sabbath in the Eocky Mountains. — Services in a Car going 
Twenty Miles per Hour. — Evanston. — Echo and Weber Can- 
ons. — The Wahsatch Mountains. — The City of Ogden. 

The country for some miles is very uninviting, barren 
hills and sage-busli land meeting tlie eye on all sides. 
Passing Bryan station, the next, Granger, is in Utah 
Territory. The ride to Evanston is very interesting. 
The time having arrived, friends from the other cars 
come into ours, and with the conductor, porters, and 
train-men, fill every seat. 

SABBATH SERVICE. 

By request, I read the Episcopal service appropriate 
for the day, and, after this, the sermon delivered by Eev. 
Mr. Murray of Boston, on the subject, " To die is 
gain." 

The hymn, 

" When, Lord, to this our western land," 
30 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. ^1 

was then read; after which a select choir, composed of 
members of the troupe, sang, — 

" Nearer, my God, to thee," 

and several other familiar tunes, closing with our na- 
tional hymn. 

Our services lasted nearly two hours ; and the closest 
attention was given by all the passengers and officers, 
who deemed it a privilege to observe the holy day. 
Here, in the very midst of the Rocky-mountain wilder- 
ness, our thanksgivings were offered up ; and our music 
floated out upon the air, and resounded through the 
deep caverns, and among the towering hills. Seldom 
have services been held under such circumstances ; and 
seldom have worshippers been more profoundly im- 
pressed by the scenes about them. Grand and solemn 
stood the everlasting hills, witnesses of our devotion. 

EVANSTOX. 

We dined here from bountifully-spread tables, and 
pushed on for Wahsatch, just beyond, which is the en- 
trance to Echo Caiion. Passing through a tunnel seven 
luindred and seventy feet long, dug into a hill of sand- 
stone, we enter the North Fork. Around, the hills 
rise abruptly on every side ; deep dark canons dividing 
them. We see the towering, castle-like rocks which 



32 THE ATLANTIC 

stand up out of the liills ; we rusli on through the ever- 
narrowing canon until it becomes only a mere gorge, 
down which Echo Creek dashes, marking out the track 
for the road. It seems that God himself had designed 
this to be the gateway through which we were to en- 
ter the valley. Castle Hock, Hanging Hock, Pulpit 
Rock, towering cliffs and receding liills, open up to 
view as the train speeds its way. At the narrowest 
part of the ravine, on the top of the towering cliffs, 
you can still see the fortifications erected by the Mor- 
mons in the year 1857 ; but happily the liuge bowlders 
were never used for the destruction of our troops, and 
now only mar the landscape, — a monument of folly. 

Away to the south now open in full view the snow- 
clad Wahsatch Mountains, among whose springs the 
Weber River takes its rise, and flows into Salt Lake, 
near Ogden. As we come to the river, it seems that 
there is not room enough for both railroad and river, so 
narrow is the j^ass ; but man has conquered, the very 
mountains furnishing a safe road-bed. Echo City is just 
beyond this narrow pass ; and as it is tlie centre of a 
fertile region, with the several rivers furnishing fisli in 
abundance, the place seems destined to gain some im- 
portance. 

Weber Canon is now entered ; and for miles the track 
is laid along the banks of the dashing, foaming, angry 



TO THE PACIFIC. 33 

stream. High mountains bound this ravine on each 
side, and in many places the road-bed is cut out of the 
hillside. Every step presents new wonders. The rocks, 
by their volcanic action, have assumed peculiar forms ; 
often the strata, standing perpendicularly from the hills, 
having the appearance of huge walls. Tliese serrated 
rocks at one point are called " The Devil's Slide." 

A large thrifty pine, whose giant form was reared 
long before the hardy pioneers toiled through the pass, 
long before the Mormons came here, and long before a 
railroad was dreamed of, marks a thousand miles west 
from Omaha. There it stands, a solitary sentinel, tell- 
ing to every passing traveller the same tale of home 
far away. 

Occasionally we catch glimpses of the peculiar 
yellow stone which has rendered famous large sections 
far to the north, now made forever a public park, a 
national playground. Granite, slate, conglomerate, 
sandstone, and limestone, are all seen in a journey 
through these hills. 

Just where the river is forced between two great walls 
of rock into a foaming, boiling current which rushes 
madly on, the road crosses the stream, and we soon 
emerge into the fertile plain of Salt-lake Yalley. The 
Wahsatch Mountains are now passed, and we see on 
either side the well-tilled farms of the Mormon settle- 



34 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

ments. A short ride takes us to Ogden, the junction 
of the two Pacific roads. 

OGDEN. 

This is a city of four thousand souls, mostly Mor- 
mons, and seems, from its situation, to be destined for a 
large town. But our train has now stopped, and the 
conductor announces that passengers going west must 
change cars. Having decided to go to Salt Lake City, 
we leave the car, which for nearly three days has been 
our home, where ties of friendship have been formed 
which will last through life, and take our place in the 
cars of the Utah Central Railroad. " Good-by ! '' is 
said ; a ^^ God bless you ! " breathed ; and we part with 
many of our friends, whose duties call another way. 
Some propose going to the city of the " Saints : " so we 
are not quite alone. At the signal, we start off along 
the banks of the lake, nearly south ; and, having passed 
the pretty settlement of Farmington, a ride of two hours, 
and thirty-six miles, brings us to this city of a peculiar 
growth and development. Here let us rest for a day. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Salt Lake City, its Situation, its People, the Buildings. — The 
Mormons, their Houses of Worship, and Schools. — Brigham 
Young. — The Future of Utah. 

My former letters have been penned upon the cars, 
riding at the rate of twenty miles per liour, this in the 
city of the '' Saints/' known as 

SALT LAKE CITY. 

Approaching the town, the first object which meets 
our view is the huge roof, oval in form, of the tabernacle ; 
then the groves of trees, blooming in almost tropical 
luxuriance; and then, as we draw nearer, the adobe 
houses of the farmers ; and, when within the city limits, 
the cottages of the people, nestled among their apple 
and peach orchards. 

In the mellow twilight of the sabbath day, the great 

snow-clad mountains, whose weird forms rise on every 

side of the valley ; the houses of the rich Mormon trader; 

35 



36 THE ATLANTIC 

the cottages suiTounded by luxuriant gardens ; broad 
streets, along either side of which rippled a little brook- 
let ; long blocks of stores ; the walls of the Mormon 
houses of worship, with the people who abide here going 
and coming, — are the sights we see in riding from the 
depot to our hotel. 

In journeying across the continent, it is better for 
one to stop over for a few days in this city, as well for 
rest, as to see this interesting place, and also to make 
preparation for the balance of the trip ; for, if not al- 
ready provided therewith, a little gold will be required 
to pa}^ for meals and other unavoidable expenses. The 
house to live at is the Townsend, where guests will find 
a genial landlord and a gentlemanly clerk. The table is 
well supplied with the best of the market; the rooms 
are cleanly, and the attention good. 

Befreshed by rest and sleep, we start out to •' do " 
this city, to which of late so much attention has been 
given. The town is located upon a spur of the Wah- 
satch mountains, the northern part of the city being 
well upon the '^ bench," from which a glorious view is 
had of the rest of the town and adjoining country. The 
city was settled July 24, 1847, by Brigham Young and 
his followers, who, driven from Nauvoo, had j)ushed 
westward through the wilds of what is now Iowa, and 
'♦^ss the plains, through the mountain-defiles, into this 



TO THE PACinC. 37 

valley. This band of religious zealots soon organized a 
government, calling their State " Deseret " * electing 
Mr. Young president, — a title and office which he holds 
to this day. As is well known, he was governor of 
Utah for many years, until 1857, during which time he 
did much towards developing the Territory, whose sixty- 
five thousands of square miles include farm-lands, great 
inland seas, wild mountain-ranges, and rich mines of 
gold, silver, lead, and iron. The valley in which this 
city is situated is bounded on the east by the Wahsatch, 
and on the \Yest by the Oquirrh mountains, through 
which deep caiions extend, the only doors of ingress and 
egress. To the east are Emigrant and Parley Passes, 
through the former of which the Mormons came into 
the valley. As we came out of Echo Canon, the old 
stage-road left the railroad, and turned off to the south, 
following the Weber Kiver, and entering the Salt Lake 
Valley by the first-mentioned canon. 

Standing in the main street, and looking south-east, 
we see Little Cottonwood Canon, wdiere is located the 
Emma Mine, which is now considered the richest 
argentiferous galena deposit in the world. To the 
west we see Brigham Pass, where mines exist rich in 
golden treasure. Kuss Valley mines are well known ; 



* This name signfies the land of the honey-bee. 
4 



38 THE ATLANTIC 

and, indeed, every canon and every mountain-side pre- 
sent great inducements to the hardy miner. 

From all the streets, the mountains are seen, some 
snow-capped all the year ; and from some points the lake 
and River Jordan are in view. The hills are well 
wooded; maple, pine, and oak abounding, and good 
building material, — sandstone and a hornblende gran- 
ite, of which they are erecting the " temple." 

The streets are all at right angles, broad, well-shaded, 
and to some extent graded. Many good and substan- 
tial structures have been erected; and .the dwellings 
which contain the twenty-two thousand people are com- 
fortable and neat, some of them being elegant mansions. 
Outwardly, comfort and prosperity are seen. 

Tlie stores are well stocked with merchandise ; and not 
only can you find the needful, but Luxury has gathered 
many of her votaries around her here, to the peril of the 
young Mormon girls and boys. The church people try 
to prevent their Gentile brothers from opening shops 
within the town, which they trusted Nature had so de- 
fended that they would alone occupy it, undisturbed by 
those not of their faith. That the Mormons may know 
their friends, by an edict of the church a sign is placed 
over the stores, upon which is painted a larcje eye, with 
the words, "Holiness to the Lord. Zion's Co-operative 
Mercantile Institution." Here the followers are ex- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 39 

pected to trade: but competition will soon break down 
the barrier ; and each will go where he can buy cheap- 
est and of the best. 

Fortunately, next morning after our arrival was to be 
May-day for the children : so a good Mormon said to us, 
"I wish you would go down and see if poly-ga-mous 
children are not as good as mono-ga-mous children" (as 
he spoke it). Of course we w^ere on hand to see the six 
thousand school-children with their parents start upon 
their excursion. No better chance could be offered to 
see these people in their holiday garb ; and we must ad- 
mit they seemed happy : certainly they looked well ; and 
nothing occurred to remind us of their peculiar customs. 
Said a good bishop of the church, ''This happy sight 
is the result of our religious faith." In vain did we 
look for those woe-stricken faces. which had been de- 
scribed to us, and for the signs of degeneracy in the chil- 
dren. 

THE TABERNACLE 

is a huge building, two hundred and fifty feet long 
by a hundred and fifty feet wide, with forty-six stone 
columns, from which springs the roof, probably the 
largest self-sustaining ceiling in the country. Entering 
the building, the organ, second to but one, rivets our 
attention; and the plain pine seats on floor and in 



40 THE ATLANTIC 

galleries seem incapable of being numbered. There is 
said to be sitting-room for fourteen thousand ; probably 
ten thousand can be comfortably seated. Immediately 
in front of the organ is a desk or pulpit, raised very 
high, where Brigham sits, and from which he preaches ; 
next below, one for the counsellors, then one for the 
bishops, then the deacons; and on either side of the plat- 
form are the seats of the "seventies." There is little 
paint, as yet, inside the building : so that all looks cold 
and uninviting. The doors are so arranged, that the 
people can depart in a few minutes from all sides of the 
structure. 

In the ceiling we noticed numerous little holes, and. 
asking our Mormon friend their use, was told that 
through them chains could be let down, to which scaf- 
folding was attached when they wished to make re- 
pairs : thus much expense is saved in the operation, 
as the ceiling is sixty-five feet from the floor. 

At this time but little has been done upon their 
much-talked of temple. If the plans are carried out, 
it will be worthy the best age of architecture. Until 
the opening of the railroad, all the stone was hauled by 
ox-teams, some twenty miles, over a mountain-road, so 
that the work was necessarily slow. It is to be a hun- 
dred feet high, and, upon the ground, ninety-nine by 
a hundred and eighty-six feet and a half, with towers 
and spires at eacli corner. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 41 

As you would expect, Brigliam lias a large and valu- 
able plat of ground enclosed with walls, within which 
are his various houses, called " The Bee," " The Lion," 
&c., his school-house, and other buildings. His farm 
is not so well cultivated as we expected to find it ; and 
some of his followers, if not as good at " scheming," are 
fur better at " farming." 

The theatre, the council-house, the city hall, and uni- 
versity are all stone buildings, of some architectural 
finish. There are several newspapers published here, 
of none of which can we say much good as to their 
ability or their mechanical execution. 

MISSIONS. 

Several denominations have established missions here, 
all of which, we were told, were flourishing. The Protes- 
tant-Episcopal Church have founded St. Mark's, and 
have just completed a fine stone chapel, where services 
are held regularly. 

THE SCHOOLS. 

For religious purposes the city is divided into twenty 
wards, in each of which meetings are held, presided 
over by a bishop ; and for political purposes these di- 
visions are preserved. The people of each ward, both 



42 THE ATLANTIC 

Mormon and Gentile, govern the schools, -uhich in 
theory are independent of the church; but, as the 
Mormons are so largely in the majority, they exercise, 
in fact, the control. The schools are free to all upon 
the payment of a small tuition-fee for their support. 
The Sunday schools are held in the same buildings. 

GENERAL VIEWS. 

We took pains to call upon Mormon gentlemen, hear 
their views, and observe their customs. All of them 
attributed their recent troubles to the rumsellers, who 
attempted to break down their license system estab- 
lished by the city government. The sum fixed upon 
was three hundred dollars per month, to be paid at least 
three months in advance, — terms to which the dealers 
were not inclined to accede, hence their troubles. 
They do not attempt to conceal their satisfaction at 
the recent decision of the Supreme Court: still none 
of the leaders spoke in any defiant tone ; but all attrib- 
uted their deliverance to divhie interposition. We 
heard their arguments in favor of polygamy in ex- 
tenso ; and, when we asked them plainly, they had to 
admit that their wives were often unhappy when a 
new one came into their husband's house. All their 
arguments are answered by the fact that the woman of 



TO THE PACIFIC. 43 

Salt Lake is not ennobled, and made the equal of man, 
but is his slave, — a condition unworthy of our age and 
country. 

Their religious tenets may be pleaded ; their Bible 
quotations may be numerous ; and the men of the city 
may show their material gains, their lands and build- 
ings, their stores and their merchandise : still for woman 
we plead, and say, that, under their social organization, 
she cannot reach a true and noble womanhood. A 
mother she may be ; but a matron she can never be. 

SUBURBS OF THE CITY. 

A ride about the city is inspiring ; the views are 
grand, the scenery delightful, and the roads in fair con- 
dition. As the houses of the Mormons are passed, one 
can know the number of his wives by the number of 
front-doors, although the wealthier have houses in dif- 
ferent parts of the town, and farms in the country, each 
presided over by a favorite wife. 

The water, which is conducted from City Creek 
through the streets of the city, furnishes a good supply 
for use and irrigation, and gliding along on either side, 
enclosed by grassy banks, gives to the streets an air of 
coolness even under a summer's sun. 



44 THE ATLANTIC 



BKIGHAM YOUNG 

is, of course, the " lion " to be seen. By politeness of 
his secretary we were introduced to him. He is a well- 
preserved, good-looking man of seventy-two, with frank, 
open face, the air of a gentleman, above the ordinary 
stature, in short, a man you would select from the many 
as one of talent. His address is good, easy in speech, 
and with that suavity which wins friends. Thus he 
seemed to me as we conversed together for a few 
minutes. 

He has taken a prominent part in the public improve- 
ments in the Territory ; organizing lines of stages, ex- 
presses, a telegraph ; building railroads ; and opening 
avenues of communication between the various settle- 
ments. He is beloved by his followers ; and over the 
people he has great influence. 

Thus much must be said : still we do know that life 
was for a long time unsafe in the Territory ; that Gen- 
tiles were forbidden to open mines or carry on trade ; 
that even the Mormons themselves were forbidden to 
prospect for gold and silver; that ^-councils " were held, 
and that men were missed from their homes ; that peo-, 
pie were warned out of the Territory; and that the 
" Danite pill " was too often administered. Had Brig- 
ham taken the course to invite immigration, to-day 



TO THE PACIFIC. 45 

Utah would have been a bright star m our constellation 
of States, her lands ablaze with the fires of smelting 
furnaces ; and the hills would have echoed with the noise 
of the mills, crushing out the wealth of her mountains. 
Her resources would have made her, probably, the first 
in mineral richness in the Union. 

The railroad is certainly working some changes : new 
people are coming in ; new impulses to trade and de- 
velopment are given ; and a new party is being formed. 
A gentleman who has lived in the Territory four years 
told me that a great change had taken place among the 
Mormons themselves, respecting the belief and practice 
of polygamy, within that time. There are probably, at 
this time, a hundred and thirty thousand people in the 
Territory, two-thirds of whom are Mormons, of whom, 
again, one-third do not believe in or practise polygamy ; 
and their number is increasing. May we not hope that 
the railroad, the telegraph, and the missions will soon 
carry to this land a new civilization in accord with our 
national instincts? The wealth of her mines, the 
fertility of her soil, and the salubriousness of her climate, 
are calling thousands into her borders ; the church and 
the school must follow ; new ideas will be given to the 
rising generation ; and the occasion will be furnished our 
statesmen in Congress to act wisely and justly in deal- 
ing with this problem, which now so vexes all who 
attempt to solve it. Let us pray for light and peace ! 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Central Pacific. — The Town of Corinne. — The Great Salt 
Lake. — The Humboldt River. — The Palisades. —Battle Moun- 
tain. — Reno. 

At Ogden we take the cars of the Central Pacific, 
which company own both the day and sleeping coaches. 
Having engaged our quarters several days before, we 
found good accommodations awaiting us. By a singu- 
lar coincidence, a friend whom we left in Europe in 
October last came in upon the Eastern train, on his way 
home to San Erancisco, thus adding much to the pleas- 
ure of our journey. At Ogden we also found Mr. K. D. 
Browne, formerly of Providence, who, as agent for the 
Pullman Car Company, gives entire satisfaction to the 
travelling public. 

As the train started off from the depot at twenty 
minutes past five, p.m. (Sacramento time), we looked 
about us, and beheld many new faces, with whom we 
were to become familiar in a ride of two days and 
nights. 

46 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 47 

We have the Great Salt Lake to our left, and on our 
riglit the great mountains, from whose sides the road- 
bed has been hewn, and far up whose faces can be seen 
the marks which fix the height of the once even larger 
inland sea than that we now look upon. Hot springs 
abound, from which rise clouds of sulphurous vapor. 
Bonneville is the first station upon the road ; and passing 
through fine farming lands, now rich in promising crops 
of wheat, barley, and corn, we reach Willard City, near 
which are many evidences of volcanic eruptions in 
extinct craters ; and, passing the thriving Mormon town 
of Bingham City, we are at Corinne, on the west bank 
of the Bear River. This place has already grown into 
some importance as the distributing depot for Montana ; 
and, as it is situated in the midst of a fine farming coun- 
try, there is here the foundations of a healthy growth. 
Stages start from here to Virginia City (three hundred 
and fifty-eiglit miles) and Helena (four hundred and 
eighty-two miles) daily. We push on our journey by 
Blue-creek Station, and are now at Promontorj^, which 
was the point where the two roads met ; but, by an order of 
Congress, the Union Pacific gave up the track, from this 
point east to Ogden, to the Central, and made the latter 
place the union. Interest will always attach to this 
place as being the scene of the ceremonies, grand yet 
happy, solemn yet full of gayety, which took place at 



48 THE ATLANTIC 

the driving of the last spike. The lightning sounded 
the stroke which welded the iron bands uniting the 
oceans. 

From the hills here the best view is to be had of the 

GREAT SALT LAKE, 

which stretches away to the south, a vast sea. This 
lake is a hundred and fifty miles long, and forty-five 
w^ide ; contains several mountain-like islands, as Church, 
Antelope, Fremont, Stansburry, and others of less size. 
Of these islands, one is stocked with horses, one with 
cattle, and another with sheep. The waters of this lake 
are so impregnated with salt, that a person easily floats 
upon the surface. There flow into this sea the waters 
of Weber, Jordan, Bear, and other rivers ; and yet this 
lake has no visible outlet. Its waters are reduced by 
evaporation; and in, the summer the salt that is left 
along the margin is carried away by wagon-loads. 
Some scientists assert that there is some hidden stream, 
which continually flows from the lake ; but one fact re- 
mains to be explained, — how the waters are now some 
twelve feet higher than when the Territory was settled ; 
fields where the early pioneers planted their grains 
being now under the waters. 

The darkness is now upon us, and we must retire for 



TO THE PACIFIC. 49 

our first night upon the Central Pacific. Our train runs 
very slowly ; and the luxurious coach furnishes us with 
a good and clean bed. During the night we pass many 
unimportant stations in Utah, and run through the 
Great American Desert, — a vast waste of about sixty 
miles square, without doubt, at some remote day, the bed 
of a vast saline lake. As we begin to rise the long 
rougli ridge of the Goose-creek Kange, some signs of 
vegetation are to be seen ; so that as we look out of our 
window, with the morning sun just rising behind us, we 
begin to see a few cattle grazing among the sage-brush. 
A few miles on, and we find ourselves at Toano, where 
the second division (the Humboldt) begins. The first 
(Salt Lake) division extends from Ogden to Loray. 
The station is so located, that in time it must become a 
distributing point for several mining-districts. This is 
the first of importance in Nevada. 

Leaving this place, the road begins to climb Cedar 
Pass, towards which the emigrants of former daj's 
looked with longing eyes, and through which they toiled 
after enduring the hardships and exposures of their 
march across the desert. Through the pass we enter 
the Humboldt Valley. The country around looks very 
uninviting ; the stream is a mere muddy brook ; there is 
some snow still upon the ground ; the air is cold, the sky 
cloudy : so we resign ourselves to a day of very uninter- 



50 THE ATLANTIC 

esting travelling, only brightened by. the hope of soon 
reaching the Sierras. We stop now and then at stations 
the location of which seems to us so strange, but which 
we suppose to be demanded by the railroads, perhaps as 
the nearest point for some interior town. As we are in 
the Vallejr of Humboldt, — a fertile section, but sparely 
settled, — let us describe the river which determined the 
line of the road. 

HUMBOLDT RIVER 

is a stream of little real importance. Rising in the 
mountains of the same name, it takes a westerly course 
of some two hundred and fifty miles ; sometimes a muddy, 
sluggish stream, but at some points a running, rapid 
river. The road passes part of the way upon tlie 
north ; but, when near Garlin, it crosses to the south side. 
Near the station called Brown's, we see the lake into 
which the river flows : it is some thirty-five miles long 
and ten Avide ; and to this must be added Carson Lake, 
— for in the rainy season they seem to be almost one, — 
a vast lake with two rivers flowing into it, but with no 
visible outlet : hence the name^" Sinks of the Humboldt." 
Our view of this lake was had just after sunset, with the 
pale moon just rising, and shedding her beams upon the 
waters. 

All day long wo have run through a very unpromis- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 51 

ing country, unpeopled and unknown. Sucli stations as 
are required for the service of the road must be erected 
at the proper intervals along the line. Winnemucca is 
such, for here a division begins ; and the employes of 
the company make the cit}^, and their shops and houses 
make by far the most of the buildings. 

Night again finds us out in those vast wastes. As 
to-morrow is to be one of grand sight-seeing, we must 
console ourselves that the tameness of this part of our 
journey is to prepare us for the grand passage of the 
Sierras. 

A good night's rest has refreshed us; and an early 
hour sees us up, and looking around to find out our posi- 
tion, as the mariner out upon the ocean daily takes his 
" observations " to determine his place in the great sea. 

THE PALISADES. 

Humboldt Canon does not possess the interest that is 
found in either Weber or Echo Canon ; but still, at 
some points, there is a grandeur which strikes us as 
we look up its bleak, brown, yet bare walls. These 
rock-faces rise so high, and press the forming river so 
close, that we seem to be rushing into a deep gorge, out 
of which there will be no escape ; but the skill of the 
engineer has gained another victory, and built a road- 



52 THE ATLANTIC 

bed over wliicli we pass in safety. We observe here 
and there seams of iron ore and copper, which tell of 
the riches which are held in store by these brown old 
hills. Red Cliff is the highest point, rising some thou- 
sand feet above the water. This narrow gorge, about 
twelve miles in length, seems to have been opened in 
the old hills for us to pass; and, jealous of their towering 
grandeur, they raise their craggy, frowning sides, leav- 
ing a meagre space for river and road-bed. 

BATTLE-MO UXTAIN STATION, 

the freighting-point for a large mining-district, is lo- 
cated in a barren, clay country, with little to see save 
dark hills far away, and the bunch-grass scattered over 
the plain. The station-house is a creditable frame 
building; and by cultivation and irrigation a good gar- 
den has been made to the west of the hotel, and a foun- 
tain throws up its sparkling waters, — a refreshing sight 
to the weary traveller over the barren wastes. 

During the past night, we entered the valley of 
Truckee. The river of that name has its rise in Lakes 
Tahoe and Donner, and flows by two branches, until, 
near the city (named from the river), they unite, and 
empty into Pyramid Lake. I refer to this little valley, 
only ten miles long and about two wide, because here 



TO THE PACIFIC. 53 

it was that the early pioneers, both themselves and 
teams exhausted and nearly dead from their toils in 
the desert, found a resting-place, whose green fields 
furnished food for their horses and cattle, and whose 
cooling waters and shady trees gave them strength and 
hope. 

KENO. 

Of this place every one has heard. It is situated 
sixteen hundred and twenty miles west of Omaha, and 
a hundred and fifty-four east of Sacramento. This 
lively town is said to contain two thousand inhabitants, 
has a little paper called " The Crescent," and boasts 
itself a great city. 

What in reality gives to Eeno any importance is, that 
it is the nearest point to Virginia City, — some twenty- 
one miles due north. The country all around here is full 
of interest ; and we purpose to stop over on our return, 
visit Virginia City, the famous Comstock Lead, and the 
mines and mining-camps in the section. 

We are just leaving the little station of 

VERDI, 

and are now fairly within the canon, toiling up the 

eastern side of the Sierras. The river rushes angrily 
5* 



54 THE ' ATLANTIC 

by us, confined within its walls of rock, their sides 
thickly covered with timber; and, toiling on, we now 
cross the dividing-line, and are in the " Golden State,'' 
— the land for which we have toiled, but whose borders 
now greet us with hills covered with grand old trees, 
with little patches of meadow-land upon the banks of 
the stream, with the pleasing song of birds, a cooling 
breeze, and a clear sun. 

The whistle sounds, and we soon draw up to the 
depot in Truckee. In the midst of a heavily-timbered 
country, its wealth is in its saw-mills, turned by the 
waters of the river; and huge piles of boards and 
timber now encumber the ground, and block up the 
streets. There is said to be a good hotel at this place, 
from which many fine excursions into the country 
around can be made. The town is elevated five thou- 
sand eight hundred and forty-five feet above tide-water, 
contains between two thousand five hundred and three 
thousand peo]3le, has a paper ('' The Tribune"), schools, 
and churches. The houses are all built with regard to 
the snows of winter, traces of which are even now seen 
in great drifts upon the northern sides of the buildings 
and lumber-piles. 

Here we enter upon the Sacramento and Oregon 
division of the road; and, having improved the thirty- 
minutes' stop here in looking about the place, the bell 



TO THE PACIFIC. 55 

summons us to our seats in tlie train, wliicli from here 
is to be drawn by two powerful engines up the steep 
sides of the hills to the summit of the Sierras, thence to 
be hurled down by the mere grade, into the Sacramento 
Valley. A whistle ! We are off ! 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Truckee Region. —The Snow-Sheds, — The Summit of the 
Sierras. — Tlie llun down the Mountains. — American Cafion. 
— Placer and Hydraulki Mining. 

From Truckee to Summit, in a distance of fifteen 
miles, the road rises nearly twelve hundred feet, or 
about eighty feet to the mile, — a grade sufficient to re- 
quire the most powerful engines to draw the cars. Our 
pace is slow indeed ; hut we must bear in mind we are 
now doing what, a few years ago, the engineers them- 
selves despaired of accomplishing, — crossing the Sier- 
ras in a railroad-car. 

The morning sun is casting his early beams upon the 
landscape, lighting up the great pines and firs, causing 
the snow-clad mountains to glisten, the tumbling waters 
of the river to sparkle, and the surface of Donner Lake, 
seen now and then between the hills, to shine like a 
mirror. Eleven miles beyond Truckee, we enter a canon 
called Strong's, and climb its tortuous course, rising 
higher and higher, until we see far below us the lake, 

56 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 57 

tlie line of the road, and lulls which, a little while since, 
seemed themselves impassable barriers. We now enter 
the line of those well-built snow-sheds, framed, boarded, 
and braced against the fierce snows. From the open- 
ings in the sides, we catch glimpses of the landscape, 
so lovely, that we all regret that necessity compels these 
ugly sheds, so dark and gloomy, for most of the way, 
that we cannot tell shed from tunnel, of which there 
are many in this section. Some Yankee will find a 
way to open this beautiful landscape to view during the 
summer; while in the winter the road shall be pro- 
tected from those great, drifting snows for which the 
Sierras are so noted. Even to-day (May 16), the snow 
still remains in huge piles against the sides of the 
sheds, while all along inside it lies in a drift from two 
to four feet deep. After snorting and puffing, whistling 
and screaming, for an hour and a quarter, our pair of 
iron horses stop in the snow-sheds at the station called 
"Summit." Here we have a good breakfast, well cooked 
and fairly served ; although we could not expect waiters 
enough to attend in a rush such as they have when 
the passengers, with appetites sharpened by mountain- 
air and a long ride, seat themselves at table, and all 
with one voice cry, " Steak ! coffee ! bread ! trout ! wai- 
ter ! a napkin ! " Even a company of regulars would 
be somewhat disconcerted at such a confusion of com- 
mands. 



58 THE ATLANTIC 

Looking around our station, a single building perched 
here upon the mountain, we perceive that near by are 
many higher hills, peaks of the Sierras, whose bare and 
craggy sides lift themselves one upon another until 
their tops, snow-clad, are lost in the clouds. 

Here these great granite hills form the divide, which 
determines the course of many mountain-streams, all of 
which, to the west by many windings, find their way to 
the Sacramento. 

" Ding ! " goes the bell. " All aboard ! " is cried ; and 
we start upon a run down hill. We are now seven thou- 
sand and forty-two feet above the sea; the valley of the 
Sacramento is two hundred and sixty-nine feet, and is 
distant a hundred and five miles. No steam is now re- 
quired, the grade being so great, that the train is pro- 
pelled under full breaks at a great speed, held by those 
little chains, by the breaking of one of which, or of a 
wheel or an axle, we would be hurled down into the 
chasm below. We are still gliding along steadily under 
the control of the brakemen. No train should be, and I 
am told seldom is, sent from Truckee without having 
the air-brakes attached, and every other precaution 
against accidents. With all the care, and all the devices 
for controlling the train, great risk is run upon such a 
fearful grade. 

In running from Summit to Dutch Flat (thirty-eight 



TO THE PACIFIC. 59 

miles), we fall three thousand six hundred and thirty- 
nine feet, and to Colfax (fifty-one miles), four thousand 
six hundred and twenty-one feet, — grades which, only a 
few 3^ears ago, were considered insurmountable. As we 
glide along, we catch occasional glimpses of the Yuba 
E-iver dashing between the hills, and, farther on, the 
Bear River, winding its way towards the Pacific. Los- 
ing sight of tliese views, we soon reach the head waters 
of the American, and, passing several unimportant sta- 
tions, we reach Emigrant Gap, where the old road, so 
long and weary to the pioneer, crossed the mountains. 
By a tunnel we pass under the old trail, and rush on 
down towards the valley ; and, after a ride of about a 
dozen miles, we enter the 

GREAT AMERICAN CANON. 

Here, between almost perpendicular walls two thou- 
sand feet high, the river, hard pressed by the hills, roars 
and tumbles, impatient of restraint. So smooth and 
sharp-cut are the sides, that we can stand upon the brink, 
and look down into the waters. Erom the cars, occa- 
sional views, grand and imposing beyond description, 
rivet our attention. We stop a few minutes at Dutch 
Flat or German Level, — a pretty town of miners, 
whose cabins are adorned with tidy gardens and little 
orchards. 



60 THE ATLANTIC 

How differently are we crossing these mountains from 
the emigrants of even a few years ago ! Then, inch by 
inch, the teams toiled to gain a higher foothold, or toiled 
equally hard to keep a foothold, as, inch by inch, they 
clhnhed down the rugged passes; now in luxurious 
coaches, with horses of iron, with a skilled engineer for 
a driver, we are carried along in comfort. Then and 
now ! Who of us on this train can know of those toils 
and hardships ? and who of those pioneers could have 
dreamed that this day the steam-engine would be cross- 
ing the Sierra Nevadas ? 

THE TUNNELS AND SNOW-SHEDS 

continue for nigh fifty miles ; the longest tunnel being 
sixteen hundred and fifty-nine feet, and many ranging 
from a hundred to eight hundred and seventy feet in 
length. 

The snow-sheds upon this road are entirely different 
in their construction from those on the Union : here 
they are framed and erected as permanent structures, at 
a cost of about ten thousand dollars per mile. Knowing 
that the snow falls here from sixteen to twenty feet deep, 
and that great avalanches of snow and ice rush down 
from the mountains into the valley, we can understand 
the necessity for these structures. They are so con- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 61 

structed^ either with sharp, sloping roofs, or against the 
side of the mountain, that the snow passes over them, 
while the trains, as through a long tunnel, pass in safety. 
Precautions are taken to prevent fires and accidents, in 
employing watchmen at frequent intervals, and having 
water and an engine always in readiness. 

HYDBAULIC MINING. 

All along the road now, for miles, we see the little 
ditches filled with running water. These narrow ditches 
are dug around the sides of the hills, tapping the river 
near its source, where perpetual snows furnish a con- 
stant supply, and are carried on and on to the various 
"claims" below in the valleys. These claims are lo- 
cated upon what is known as the Blue Lead, which 
extends from Gold Kun, a few miles beyond, through 
Nevada, into and through a part of Sierra County, and 
constitute the best large "placer-mining" district in the 
State. The whole tract was, without doubt, the bed of 
a once large mountain-stream, which has piled up these 
great beds, within which are the fine particles of gold, 
worn away from the great quartz mountains by the 
action of the water upon them. Petrified trees are now 
found like those growing upon the hills around, — pines 
and oaks, the manzanita, the mahogany, and others, ir 



62 THE ATLANTIC 

this peculiar formation, which is from one to five or six 
miles in width. From these ditches the water is taken 
in a " telegraph/' which is a long, narrow flume of wood, 
extending out over the claim; to this telegraph, hose 
with nozzle is attached, from which the water flows in a 
constant stream, and is by the miners directed -against 
the hillside. By this action the soft dirt is washed 
away from the gravel, and, forming one liquid mass, is 
carried through a '^ tail-race " into long flumes, often 
miles in length. Within these flumes are placed " rif- 
fles," — little slats attached to the bottom of the flume, 
for "arresting" the gold, which by its own gravity 
seeks the bottom, and is caught by these riffles. Along 
the flumes, at intervals, are stationed men, who throw 
out the large stones and pieces of rock from which the 
dirt has been washed. When the riffles are supposed to 
be full, the water is turned ofi", and the dirt is taken 
out. 

The next process is the use of the " long tom," which 
is a sheet-iron box with a duplicate bottom extending 
diagonally over a little more than half the box. This 
secondary iron plate is perforated with holes ; and under 
it, in pockets made by two cross-slats upon the bottom, 
is placed the quicksilver. This "long torn" is now at- 
tached to a sluice-way, and the water turned through it. 
The dirt which has been taken from the rifdes is now 



TO THE PACIFIC. 63 

shovelled upon this perforated plate ; the particles of gold 
fall through, and unite their atoms with the quicksilver. 
This process of throwing the dirt upon the plate, wash- 
ing away the sand and rock by the flowing water, and 
the taking-up of the gold by the quicksilver, is continued 
until the " quicksilver is full," as they term it. Then the 
amalgam is removed, placed in a retort, heated to some 
four hundred and eighty degrees Fahrenheit ; when the 
quicksilver is sublimed, and passes away in a vapor, 
leaving the gold. 

Of course such mining, w^hile it is very expensive 
(vast sums having been laid out in building the ditches 
and flumes), still can never be an economical mode ; for, 
with every precaution, much of the gold is carried 
away. After the last riffle is passed, the mass is car- 
ried into the streams which empty into the great Sacra- 
mento, whose waters are now muddy and dirty from the 
vast amount of sand, clay, and loam, washed into it, as 
each miner, by his ceaseless labor, wears away the hills 
and the mountains, and carries them by his flumes into 
the rivers. It is a strange sight to look around and see 
what this constant flow of water has done in so short a 
time ; and then we are enabled to understand some of 
those great changes which Nature hath wrought by her 
rivers flowing on for ages and ages. 

This constitutes, in general terms, what is called 



64 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

" j)lacer'' or ^'hydraulic" mining, which is now carried 
on to a very much less extent than formerly, before 
quartz mining was begun. 

This information was obtained from observation, and 
conversation with one of our fellow-travellers from Bos- 
ton, wlio now returns to visit the land, which, in 1849, 

he explored in search of gold. Also from Dr. A of 

San Francisco we learned much of the geography, 
geology, climate, and flora of the section through which 
we have been journeying. 

But we are nearing that famous " tumble " down the 
mountain, called " Cape Horn ; " and we must stop our 
talk upon mining and miners, and observe the grandeur 
and beauties of our ride for the next few miles, that 
my readers may know how to " double the horn/' 



CHAPTER X. 

Cape Horn. — The Stations Colfax, Auburn, and Rocklin. — The 
City of Sacramento. — The Western Pacific. — What is seen in 
a Ride from Sacramento to Oakhand, opposite San Francisco. 

We closed our last as we were winding around the 
sides of the mountain in the vicinity of that place 
known as 

CAPE HORN. 

People who are naturally timid shrink from looking 
out of the cars down into the deep chasm on our left, 
or up upon the dark, bleak mountains which all around 
rear their craggy, snow-capped crests far into the very 
clouds. Even the cunning Indian failed to make a 
trail directly across this hill; and to the loale-face v^ii^ 
left the glory of building the first road, and of driving 
over that road his '' iron horse." As we round the hill, 
we see far, far below us, the river, which looks like a 
little brook, and there a little plank spanning it, which 
really is a large turnpike bridge. Now we turn sharply 

6* 65 



66 THE ATLANTIC 

to our right, and lose sight of the river; and as just 
across the chasm we see the road-bed, seemingly within 
a stone's-throw, we look anxiously for some way to reach 
the other side. As we run along the brink of the preci- 
pice, we look down a thousand feet into the valley be- 
low. Gliding slowly along, a turn to our left .brings us 
upon a trestle eight hundred and seventy-eight feet 
long, and a hundred and thirteen feet high, which is 
to take us safely over this gorge, and upon the road- 
bed which we saw so near us, yet so unattainable. 
When this section of road was built, the Chinamen 
were lowered down by ropes from the mountain peaks, 
and in this position gradually worked themselves a foot- 
hold; the foothold enlarged to a workiug-place ; and 
the working-place, after much labor, to the road-bed 
over which we are passing in safety. No one can view 
this point without being struck with the herculean 
labors which accomplished this result, and without re- 
joicing that American skill and energy directed it. 

"While we have been looking, admiring, and wonder- 
ing, we have reached the pretty town of Colfax, named 
in honor of the vice-j)resident. As this is the point 
for distributing freight for Grass Valley, Nevada, San 
Juan, Little York, You Bet, and other mining towns 
and camps, the company have erected large and sub- 
stantial depots for tlie merchandise, which is taken by 



TO THE PACIFIC. 67 

"fast freight expresses" (four-horse wagons carrying 
a light load, and driven at a rapid rate hy relays of 
horses) to all the interior points. Stage-lines also are 
ready to convey the passengers and mails. 

Eighteen miles farther on, we stop at Auburn, the 
county seat of Placer County, containing a thousand 
people, and many neat and substantial buildings ; and, 
although the place has no air of business, still the 
houses, seen from the cars, indicate home-comfort in 
their neat and well-kept gardens and orchards. We 
pass along for some dozen miles the scenes of early 
mining-operations, where even now some of the " old 
settlers " may be seen at work. 

At Eocklin, built from a handsome granite found 
near by, and in a substantial manner, the company has 
a machine-shop and round-house. As we leave this 
place, the foot-hills of the great mountains, down whose 
sides we have been picking our way, are left behind us ; 
and, although still the land is rolling, we see beyond 
the plains of the American River Valley. We make 
good time over the meadows, and cross the marsh-lands 
of American River upon trestle-work, and over the river 
itself upon a bridge of wood, and now are in the suburbs 
of the " Queen City of the Plain." Orchards and 
gardens are upon either side; flowers send us choice 
perfumes ; the fig-tree lifts its great green leaves to the 



68 THE ATLANTIC 

sun; the soft, balmy air fans our clieeks, — all telling us 
of summer. What a change ! Only a few hours ago we 
were up in the snows of the Sierras, so cold that we 
needed a fire in the cars, and our overcoats on besides ; 
now we are in the land of flowers, — of almost tropical 
luxuriance. 

Passing the great brick repair-shops and depots for 
supplies of the company, we are soon taken into the 
station, upon the banks of the Sacramento River. 
Until the year 1870 this was the western terminus ; 
but the completion of the Western Pacific to San Fran- 
cisco brought about the union of the two roads. 
The distance from here to Omaha is given at seventeen 
hundred and seventy and eighteen one hundreths miles ; 
and from here to San Francisco, by way of Oakland, is 
a hundred and thirty-eight miles. 

As we stepped from the cars upon the platform, what 
a scene presented itself! Here are gathered persons 
of every nation, speaking every tongue, — a jargon of 
language. Here were merchants and mechanics of this 
city and the country, meeting old miners from the 
" diggins" who had come to town for a while; the fash- 
ionable belles who were to take the cars for the city 
near the " Grolden Gate ; " young men " with no par- 
ticular occupation;" old men waiting for "a chance," 
— altogether the most "cosmopolitan people" I have 



TO THE PACIFIC. 69 

ever met. As the train waits thirty minutes, we pass 
around among the people, observe them and their 
ways, talk to some, ask the price of the nice fruits and 
flowers, and so await the time to continue our journey. 

At the stations along the Central Pacific, as persons 
entered the train, they would inquire of those they met, 
"Are you hound for Frisco?" Here every one is inquir- 
ing of his friend, "Are you going to the bay?" 

We see some substantial stores and blocks along the 
street fronting the river. The great State House, with 
its lofty dome, stands out from the other buildings ; but, 
save these, we see little of the city. We shall try to 
give a better description of this city, once destroyed by 
flood, after sojourning a day or two here. 

Here the "overland express" is made up, with sev- 
eral coaches added ; and we push out of the station, and 
run for some distance along the river. We soon begin 
to see what looks strange to a Yankee ; that is, the wind- 
mill pumping water into a large tank, built sometimes 
upon the house, upon the barn, and oftener upon stilts 
up in the air. Fine vineyards skirt the road ; and 
great fields of wheat stretch away from the river. We 
can but be amazed at the fertility of the Sacramento 
Valley, which we are crossing, and which extends more 
than a hundred miles to the north. 

But we are nearing Stockton, called " The Windmill 



70 THE ATLANTIC 

City." As the station is somewhat removed from the 
city, we can see but little of the place, the impressions 
of which from the depot are in no wise pleasing. 

A stop of a few minutes, and we are away for " The 
Golden Gate." The next station of any importance is 
Lathrop, the junction of the Visalia Division, which 
traverses the San Joaquin Valley for many miles, and 
which is a favorite route for the Yo-semite. 

Crossing the great bridge over the San Joaquin River, 
we push on through a rather uninteresting country, by 
several stations of no account. Occasionally we catch a 
view of Mt. Diabalo far away towards the Pacific, and 
the snow-caps of the Sierras far behind us. 

Just ahead of us we see high hills, which seem to 
offer another barrier insurmountable; but our train 
winds itself along, twisting in and out between this 
coast-range, until it finds its way out through Liver- 
more Pass. Rushing through a dark tunnel, we are 
fairly in the canon. Although now quite dark, we can 
still discern the great mountains on either side, with 
the dashing river at our feet. 

Presently the station Niles is announced, which is 
the junction of the San Jose branch. It is now too 
dark to see the country ; and we can only wait to hear 
the glad sound — Oakland ! But, while we were wishing, 
the conductor cries out " Oakland ! " and many passen- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 71 

gers prepare to leave at this ^^ Brooklyn " of the Pacific 
coast. 

We can only reach the boat which is to carry us 
across the hay, by running out for some two miles upon 
trestle-work to the deep water ; and while the train is 
slowly crawling over this bridge, and I am collecting 
my "traps" to take away from this "car-home," let me 
take leave of my readers, and close this chapter. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Arrival in San Francisco, and Impressions of the City gained the 
First Day. 

My last letter closed with us upon the long bridge 
which pushes itself out from Oakland Point towards the 
city of San Francisco. It was not long before we rushed 
from the cars and upon the boat; and, going irresistibly 
to the bows, we peered into the fog, trying to get a 
glimpse of the lights across the bay. We were told 
that the cold wind which blew in our faces, that the fog 
which hung over the bay, were quite frequent in sum- 
mer, usuall}^ coming up in the afternoon. Tliis seemed 
to us a rather cold reception : but Ave had not much time 
to think about it ; for the porter of the Lick House had 
singled us out of the great crowd, and was now welcoming 
us to the city, and inquiring about our baggage. But 
now up came our friends to whom we had written of our 
intended visit, and, giving us a true " California wel- 
come," soon dispelled all our unhappincss, and made us 
72 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 73 

feel so well, that we were ready '^ to vote the fogs and the 
wind a luxury." A sail of twenty minutes landed us 
at the wharf at " City Front," where a carriage awaited 
us ; and we were driven to the hotel. Here rooms, all in 
proper order, awaited us ; for we had done what every 
one should do, — telegraphed the day hefore for accommo- 
dations. 

Tired and exhausted by such continuous car-riding, 
we were soon sleeping away our first night upon the 
Pacific coast, which, together with a good breakfast, 
prepared us for our 

FIRST DAY IN SAN FRANCISCO. 

We had expected a busy, bustling city, where every 
one jostled against his neighbor in his hurry to and fro 
upon the business streets ; but as we left our house, 
and went down Montgomery towards California Street, 
we were forcibly struck with the lack of all bustle and 
all confusion, although just the hour for beginning gen- 
eral business. 

The brokers and bankers were just preparing their 
balance-sheets, and opening their day's transactions ; but 
all wore a look of despair, as men began to assemble in 
little knots here and there upon " the Wall Street " of 
the Pacific. An inquiry disclosed the fact, that stocks 
had been tumbling for the past few days, and would 



74 THE ATLANTIC 

probably go lower to-clay. On Friday of last week 
(May 10), stocks in all the mines had tumbled down at 
a rate unknown before, — in one case from nineteen 
hundred dollars to less than three hundred dollars, — a 
day to be remembered hereafter as the " black Friday/^ 
It was only too true that stocks were to go Still lower j 
for the first meeting of tlie Board saw another de- 
cline. Men who a few days ago were millionn aires were 
to-day made bankrupts ; and it seemed to be a time 
when all were losers. The clouds hung dark and heavy 
over financial circles ; and despondency and gloom filled 
the houses of bankers and brokers. A friend and my- 
self made an estimate of the depreciation of the stocks 
upon the market up to noon that day ; and our footings 
show it to be rising forty-seven millions of dollars. 

When will people learn from the experiences of others, 
and stop gambling in stocks ? Do not the wrecks 
which strew the shores of this sea of stock-bujang tell 
plainly enough of the dangers which beset one who em- 
barks in search of a fortune upon this angrj^ flood. 
Sure as can be, sooner or later, you are ingulfed in the 
maelstrom. 

But let us turn away from such scenes, and take a 
w^alk around the city ; and, of course, we soon find our- 
selves upon that fashionable thoroughfare, Kearney 
Street. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 75 

A STRANGE SIGHT. 

We had not walked far before we perceived two ladies 
coming down the street, — the one dressed in a suit of 
thin lawn throughout, with hat telling of summer-time ; 
the other dressed in a gown of dark heavy cloth, and 
with a long fur cloak on, and hat and costume telling of 
a New-England winter. Yet this pair of ladies walked 
down the street side by side without attracting any 
notice. A little observation soon told me that the ladies 
dressed just as their fancy and taste dictated, making, 
as they promenaded the streets, or filled the spacious 
churches, a perfect medley of colors, styles, fashions, 
forms, and material, — "a bouquet of feminine charms," 
as one writer says ; but we hold the expression " for 
advisement." It does not require a very long stay here 
to convince one that business has been overdone, and is 
now toiling for a legitimate basis. 

The architecture is very peculiar, ornate, and often 
grotesque. To accommodate them to earthquakes, the 
" Friscans " build their blocks and houses only two, 
sometimes three, and often but one story high. The 
prevailing material used is the redwood painted ; but, 
when the owner can afford it, they are covered with 
elaborate iron and wooden ornaments, in such excess as 
to become ugly. 



76 THE ATLANTIC 

In one day little of the city can be seen ; and these 
hasty impressions may be changed by closer observation. 

The people whom one meets are extremely polite and 
affable, ready to show you about their city, of which 
they are very proud. 

The weather is supposed to be a fair June day ; the 
thermometer is about 65°, and, when out of the sun, 
you are a little uncomfortable ; and it is so desirable to 
have the sun in this climate, that you see in the adver- 
tisements of houses to let, &c., that "the rooms are 
sunny." 

We were prepared for the wind ; for, after lunch, we 
took along our overcoat, which by three o'clock we found 
the most serviceable of garments. Looking over the 
hills to the west, you see huge banks of fog rolling in 
over the city; and the cold ocean-wind, surcharged with 
fog, rushes upon you like an evil spirit. We shivered 
a,nd hurried, walked down streets lying in opposite di- 
rections, still the same spirit was upon us, until we were 
driven into the hotel to take refuge before a glowing 
coal-fire in the grate. This they tell me is a fed?' sam- 
ple of their summer weather : one may get used to it, 
but the first experience is very unpleasant. It is utterly 
out of the question to sit out of doors during the even- 
ing : hardly does one want to walk or ride out, unless 
business or urgent social calls demand it. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 77 

A good dinner at the hotel does much to dispel the 
gloom which an afternoon's fog creates ; and the confi- 
dent assurance with which the Friscans tell you that 
these are their unpleasant days, and that they are very, 
very sorry you cannot stay to enjoy their pleasant sea- 
son, compels one to be satisfied, and enjoy what there is 
of blessings before him. -^' Thus endeth the first les- 
son," as the good bishop would say ; and '' thus endeth 
the first day " of my visit to the Pacific coast. But as 
the city faces the bay, being built upon a narrow penin- 
sula, with old ocean at her back, reached only through 
the ^' Golden Gate," we have not yet seen the " other 
ocean," as the early navigators of the Atlantic used to 
speak of this ; but it is proposed that to-morrow we shall 
drive to the Cliff House, view old ocean, and enjoy the 
pranks of the seals. 



7* 



CHAPTEE XII. 

The Cliff House and the Road. — Seal Rock and the Lions. —The 
View from the Piazza of the Cliff House. — Sunday in San 
Francisco, and how it is observed. — Dedication of Dr. Stone's 
New Church. 

No one lias seen this city, at least in tlie estimation 
of Friscans, until he has been to the Cliff House. No 
matter how cold are the blasts which blow in from the 
Pacific, no matter how fearful are the showers of sand, 
or even how angry look the skies, the Cliff must be 
seen ; and a drive over the Cliff-house Koad is indispens- 
able to a proper reception into this wonderful town. 
Indeed, so pre-eminently necessary is this ride, that, at 
breakfast upon my first morning in the city, I was 
asked, " Have you been out to the Cliff? " Appreciat- 
ing all this, we prepared for the drive the second day 
after our arrival ; and so after lunch we were off. 

A drive of a little more than a mile through the city 
was a martyrdom we little liked. The fine sand from 

the hills about fills the air, and, borne upon the Pacific 

78 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 79 

blasts, cuts one's face until lie cries for quarter.' These 
sand-hills were blown up from the ocean-beach ; and 
their position seems to be constantly changing. The 
streets often run through these sand-banks ; and, if you 
plough through one, you then can understand what a 
sandy road is indeed. The old Pawtuxet of boyhood 
memory is outdone ; the road through Warwick to 
Apponaug ill its palmiest days was a smooth asphalt 
way compared to these streets of sand. 

In other places, where the streets have been graded 
and macadamized, the sand comes in, and repossesses 
itself of its old quarters, covering sidewalk and car- 
riage-way, door-stoop and front-gardens. 

By dint of courage and perseverance, we succeeded in 
getting beyond the city street proper, and upon the 
famous road. As there were races at one of the agri- 
cultural parks, the road was unusually lively and gay ; 
and we had the pleasure of seeing the " fast nags." 

The road is nigh three miles long, and has a hard, 
smooth carriage-way, in width some sixty feet, and a 
trotting track-way of some forty feet ; and the whole is 
kept in most perfect order from the funds received at 
the gate, the toll being four bits ^ each carriage. As a 
road, it is of great merit. The drive is entirely witli- 

* A bit is an old silvei* ninepence ; and so the toll is a silver half-dollar 
each carriage. 



80 THE ATLANTIC 

out interest, unless it be to watch, the varied surface of 
the great sand-banks made by the wind, or look over a 
field and observe the ripples and the changing colors. 
Just as you approach the hotel, the road takes a sharp 
grade down towards the beach, and, by a very nicely 
curved way, you are let down to the level of the Cliff- 
house piazza ; and a short distance more brings you 
down upon the sandy beach. 

The Cliff House is a wooden structure built out over 
the rocks, and has evidently been enlarged as business 
increased, and is neither pretty in its architecture, nor 
inviting in its appearance ; but inside the house crea- 
ture comforts are dispensed with lavish hand. 

Standing upon the veranda looking out to the ocean, 
you have, a little to your left, the great Seal Eock, 
whereon disport the great sea-lions, and in their antics — 
now crawling up the rocks, their sides dripping with the 
foam ; now stretching themselves out in the sun ; and 
now rubbing their sides with their great fins, which 
serve them as paddles, hands, and feet ; or now again 
lashing the rocks with their tails, all the time growling, 
or rather howling — offer great amusements to the peo- 
ple who throng this popular resort. 

Among the lions which have grown old and ill look- 
ing in the service of entertaining the populace of this 
fun-loving city with its strange freaks and pranks, and 



TO THE PACIFIC. 81 

whose eyes now squint from over-feeding, and who seems 
to rule the rock with the greatest bravado, is one called 
"old Ben Butler.'^ For the peace and good of the other 
lions, may "old Ben" soon take his last leap into the sea ! 

To our left is Gull Rock ; and farther around are the 
Headlands, and the Gate called golden, through which 
all the commerce of this port must enter, and through 
which our ships seek a path to China and Japan. The 
hills, where they are of rock, rise majestically from the 
sea \ and with the air clear of fog, and at setting sun, a 
beautiful picture must be here, and this narrow road- 
stead must have been rightly named "The Golden 
Gate." 

For miles you can ride along as pretty and sandy a 
beach as you could desire. The ocean dashing at your 
feet, or surging against the projecting rocks, tells us of 
our "other ocean," — the blue Atlantic. Navigators 
called this the "Pacific," because its waters were so 
calm; but they only knew of its southern character. 
Then they had not been far enough north to determine 
whether California was an island or the mainland ; and, 
indeed, upon the early maps which we have seen, it is 
laid out as an island. If you desire to try its " pacific 
waters," we are told that a voyage north, to Portland, 
Oregon, or to Alaska, will settle the question ; and you 
will only hope that Shelvocke and Drake, and their 



82 THE ATLANTIC 

compeers, had sailed farther north before they named 
this great ocean. Its waters are evidently not as blue 
as our ocean, neither are they as clear ; but this last, 
undoubtedly, is caused, to a considerable extent, by the 
mining, which sends down into the bay so much soil 
and decomposed rock. 

Around the Cliff House are "other houses" which 
once sought to be Cliff Houses, but whose pretensions 
have been entirely dampened by the gold which it is 
said the coffers of the old "house" contain: so now 
these stand around, deserted monuments of what a 
number of Cliff Houses there might have been, had it 
not, as in every thing else in this State, been a mo- 
nopoly. 

A delightful drive took us back over the road, and 
through some of the best-built streets of the city, to our 
hotel, as thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of the 
Cliff House, and the famous road leading to it, as is a 
hazed freshman into the great mysteries of college 
life. 

Let not any thing here written deter you from taking 
this famous drive, lunching at the Cliff House, and 
taking a sight of " Old Ben Butler," should he still 
live to torment his enemies, and disgust his friends, 
when you visit the Golden State. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 83 



SUNDAY IN SAN FRANCISCO. 

We were awakened with the sounds of martial music, 
and the tramp of soldiery. Por a time we thought it 
was the Fourth of July. From the hotel-window we 
saw no less than three military companies, each with a 
hand, marching on their way to some picnic. The side- 
walks were filled by eight o'clock, with men with wives 
and children, oftener, perhaps, with their sweethearts, 
hurrying to the boats, the cars, the " busses," and every 
sort of a conveyance wliich would take them to some 
^' place of resort," or into the adjoining country. The 
horse-cars were all placarded with great shows and 
performances at Woodward's and the City Gardens. 
There were to be extra attractions at the theatre and 
circus, and at the gardens : so all must go for one day 
of rest. We confess ourselves a little bewildered at the 
sights, but were told that Sunday was the great holiday 
for the people, — perhaps to-day a little more parade ; 
but still every pleasant Sunday takes the people into the 
countr}^, to the villages and islands in the bay, or to 
that great of all great places, — Woodward's Garden ; 
for without Woodward, whom Providence long ago 
sent to the ^' golden shores " of the Pacific, where could 
California find her " Barnum " of to-day ? and how, in 



84 THE ATLANTIC 

years gone by, would visitors from tlie mining camps 
have been entertained in the city, had it not been for 
the What Cheer House ? 

After breakfast we bethought ourselves to go over to 
Oakland to church ; but we found the boat in complete 
possession of a German Turner Society and tlieir numer- 
ous friends : so we were forced back to spend a quiet morn- 
ing, contemplating the strange sights which we had seen, 
and comparing them with the manner in which we 
passed our Sundays in New England. Did we not know 
it, we should have said certainly we were back again in 
Paris, where Sundaj^ is made the great gala-day. 

In the afternoon, we had arranged to accompany 
friends to the dedication of the new church-edifice, of 
which Dr. Stone is pastor. 

Architecturally this house is probably the finest in 
the city, and is situated on Post Street. The cost for lot 
and building was rising a hundred thousand dollars. 
The congregation was very large ; and the peculiar diver- 
sity of style in the hats and dress of the ladies made 
them look like " a huge nosegay," as one of our friends 
described it. The sermon of the doctor was not as 
brilliant as we had heard from him ; but still the services 
passed off to the entire satisfaction of all present. Dr. 
Stone is very popular with the people of the city, 
irrespective of denominational differences ; and his teach- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 85 

ings and good works have an influence which is far- 
reaching. 

Thus our Sunday was passed; and we shall to-morrow 
begin a week of observation, out of which we trust that 
something can be gleaned for our readers. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

Impressions after a Week in San Francisco. — What is seen from 
Oakland Wharf. — The Streets of the City. — The Peculiar Ar- 
chitecture. — The Churches. — A Tribute to the Memory of 
Starr King. 

The week which I have now spent in San Francisco 
has given me opportunities for making a judgnaent of her 
outward life and her material development ; and I will 
try to give my readers views which have been formed 
with deliberation. 

As is well known, San Francisco is greatly exercised 
of late about the occupation of Goat Island, and the 
building of a rival city on the Oakland side of the bay ; 
and I must say, that, to one unacquainted with the early 
history of the city, the site where Oakland is built 
seems the place for the great city of the Pacific. 

The deeper water-front of the early days determined 
the commercial superiority of the site selected, aided, 
and perhaps assured, by the Spanish mission-church and 
fortifications, then already established. The city now 

86 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 87 

lias moved away from the deep-water-front, and is find- 
ing its commercial marts far to the south, where they 
must fill out into the bay for the wharves. 

As I stood upon Oakland Wharf, looking across to the 
city, considering the situation, and its future growth, 
the lines of Tennyson came in mind : — 

" I waited for the train at Coventry ; 
I hung, with grooms and porters, on the bridge, 
To watch the three tall spires ; and then I shaped 
The city's ancient legend into this," 

From this point, looking west, you have, just by that 
huge rock which rises from the water about a mile from 
the end of the bridge, called Goat Island, and which has 
given so much trouble, the roadstead which leads out 
into the Pacific, tlirough the Golden Gate. To the left 
rises Telegraph Hill, whereon, in early days, the beacon- 
light was placed, and at the foot of which the early 
miners pitched their tents, and began their city. For 
many years the business-portion of the city lay at the 
very base of this hill, with the tents and cabins of the 
new-comers far up its sides. It seemed to me, now, that 
I could see the scattered tents of the primitive town, 
and the good ship "Niantic," in charge of Capt. Brewer 
of Boston, gracefully sailing up the bay, to become the 
first hotel of the city. I saw the little settlement in- 



88 THE ATLANTIC 

crease from liamlet to town, and from town to city. I 
saw her people gathered in the plaza, witnessing the 
fights of the bull and the bear. I saw ships flying the 
flags of every nation coming to the new-found harbor, 
bearing the living freights, and carrying away the gol- 
den treasure. 

Now the city has stretched far away to the south, — as 
far as Mission Bay, and to the west two miles, and more, 
towards the ocean. The place where " The ISTiantic " 
used to lie is now covered by a large brown-stone block 
of stores ; and to the east, for nearly a mile, the bay 
has been filled in to find deep water, and the whole space 
covered with large, and, in many instances, substantial 
storehouses. Around Telegraph Hill decay has at- 
tacked both the buildings and the dwellers therein : the 
stores have been emptied of their merchandise ; and but 
little now remains to tell of the bustle and noise of the 
early settlement. The plaza has been enclosed by a 
neat iron fence, and beautified with trees and shnibs, to 
remain forever a park, to which the old inhabitants love 
to come and think over the scenes of early days. As 
you look upon the city, you see the shipping, with fly- 
ing banners, at the wharves, and the war-vessels (al- 
ways some) riding at anchor, gayly decked in bunting, 
then the long lines of storehouses which cover the low 
land west to Montgomery ; there the Mansard roofs of 



TO THE PACIFIC. 89 

Montgomery and Kearney Streets, and above tliem the 
clock-tower on the Chamber of Commerce, on Cahfornia 
Street, all come in view. Bising above the city is the 
bald and bare form of Telegraph Hill, and to the south 
the house-capped sides of Russian Hill. Farther to the 
south is Lone Mountain, where they are laying out a 
beautiful cemetery; and then the land stretcbes away in 
a gentle slope to Mission Bay, with the foothills separat- 
ing the ocean from the bay to the west. To the ex- 
treme south are the China docks ; and away down the 
bay is seen the dry dock and South San Francisco. 
From the city, the open sea is not visible, as it is situ- 
ated upon the southernmost of two ridges, or arms, which 
jut out towards each other, leaving only a narrow pass 
between them, which makes the Golden Gate, which 
fronts towards the bay. To the west of all rise tlie 
great sandhills, over which we must pass to reach the 
ocean. In the summer months, generally, a fog-bank, 
after ten o'clock in the moruing, hangs over the western 
part of the town, ready to be taken over and upon the 
whole city by the trade-winds, which prevail at this 
season of the year. 

Montgomery Street, running from Telegraph Hill 
south to Market, is the principal street ; while Kearney, 
the next street west, and parallel with it, is attracting 
the shopkeepers, whose trade is with the ladies. New 

8* 



90 THE ATLANTIC 

Montgomeryj whicli was to be an extension of the old 
street by that name, and upon which one front of the 
Grand Hotel is erected, was an unfortunate enterprise 
for its projectors, many of whom have been ruined, — a 
good example for those who, either as city officials or 
private individuals, attempt to change the location of 
trade by cutting through at great expense and more 
inconvenience new streets : in one case the individual 
may escape personal ruin, but the tax-payers suffer. 
Does not Boston and Providence furnish such exam- 
ples? 

The streets in the business portions of the city are of 
wooden pavement ; those in the sparsely settled portion 
are macadamized. There are too many of the plank- 
road style, which is the way in which the side streets 
are laid. The sidewalks are nearly all of plank, save 
upon the principal business streets, where all kinds of 
walks are used. Many of the streets are so very steep, 
that it is with difficulty that one can drive up or down 
them; Clay Street being a pretty good test even for 
pedestrians. 

The horse-cars are compelled to make long detours 
around the hills ; and, even then, often four horses are 
required to draw a car up the grade. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 91 

THE BUILDINGS. 

We cannot speak very higlily of the architecture of 
the city. Around the old adobe church of the Mission 
Dolores are many of the old clay houses still remain- 
ing, which bear the marks of a century. The dwell- 
ings are neither elegant nor comfortable, as a rule, — 
generally small, one-story, three-roomed houses. E-e- 
cently some quite fine private houses have been erected ; 
but all seem so unhomelike, and so destitute of all grace 
and beauty ! The public buildings are so out of propor- 
tion, that they are deprived of all architectural claims. 
House-builders seem to have accepted the situation, — 
that every October the earth will quake, and that ma- 
sonry loill crack, and ceilings and chimneys will fall : 
hence they have sacrificed taste to a style which they 
call " earthquake proof." The great hotels — the Lick 
and the Grand — present long and somewhat impos- 
ing facades: the Occidental has the most harmonious 
front, but is considered too high " for that peculiar in- 
stitution,'' an earthquake. The newer buildings are of 
wood ; and all are covered with ornaments, to such an 
extent that they become often very repulsive. The 
structure which the Bank of California has erected 
for its offices, although neither large nor pretentious, is, 
to our eye, the best specimen of graceful and classical 



92 THE ATLANTIC 

architecture. Neither the Treasury Building nor the 
new City Hall are far enough advanced to decide 
their merits. 

THE CHURCHES 

are not, as a class, at all creditable. Several new ones, 
among them Dr. Stone's, are fair in their proportions ; 
but there is in them all a lack of harmonious blending 
of materials used, and in the adjustments of the 
lines of gables, windows, doors, &c. The Episcopal 
church is almost ugly in its appearance ; Calvary is 
better, but has the look of an opera-house. The 
church which the lamented Starr King designed, and 
in which his society still worship, has a pleasing and 
harmonious front, — in the '^ lighter Gothic of the seven- 
teenth century," and in its interior designs and arrange- 
ments shows the cultivated taste, as well as the wisdom, 
of its architect. 

Just outside the church, within the little yard, sepa- 
rated from the street by an iron fence, and beneath the 
shade of a Monterey cypress, is the sarcophagus which 
holds the cherished dust of Starr King. New England 
gave of her best when she sent this "eloquent divine," 
in the trying hours of need, to the Pacific ; and who 
infused his own life and teachings into a people who 
now speak his name in honor, and revere his memory. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 93 

telling their children of him whom they loved so well. 
Was not New England amply repaid for her loss in be- 
holding her influence and her principles ripen into such 
a glorious fruition, that the " old flag " received no 
harm from this far-off sister, who had been so long 
separated from the rest of the band, that she had nearly 
forgotten her " nourishing mother " ? This done, his 
mission seemed ended. The memory of his life and his 
recorded utterances remain a perpetual legacy ; and 
every son of New England, as he visits the grave of the 
noble King, cannot repress a tear in remembrance of 
him who was so noble a son of the land of the Pilgrims. 
In my next I will tell of the gardens and their flowers, 
and of the schools, and, before I leave San Francisco, 
something of the Chinese. 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

The Gardens of San Francisco. — The Plants and Trees. — The 
Schools. — The Manufacturing Interests. — Banks and Curren- 
cy. — Horse-Cars. — The Chinese. — Their Life. — Their Thea- 
tre. — Their Religion. 

In riding round the city of San Francisco, one is 
amazed with the gardens, and the plants which grow in 
tliem. Hedges made with the fish geranium; fuchsias 
trained against the liouse, reaching above the windows, 
or in a tree, with stem four inches in diameter ; the 
century-plant in full bloom ; the tea roses, pelargoniums, 
and the choicest pinks, all growing out of doors without 
protection, — is a sight never witnessed in New England. 
There is a lack of shade-trees along the streets ; but in 
the gardens we saw the pej)per-tree, with its delicately- 
fashioned leaves ; the cypress, with its feathery foliage ; 
the eucalyptus, from Australia, which grows so fast, and 
is said to rival in size the sequoia ; the fig ; the several 
varieties of palm ; and choice evergreens, the arborvitse, 

the cedars, and many other trees, all growing in luxuri- 
94 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 95 

ance. As there are no grasses indigenous to this sec- 
tion, much difficulty has been found in making lawns ; 
but some of the southern grasses, like Kentucky red- 
top, the Timothy, together with the white clover, have 
been made to grow upon prepared soil, with constant 
irrigation ; for even here a windmill is almost as common, 
and equally as useful, as in Stockton. The lawns, how- 
ever, are not like those at Newport, which to me seem as 
fine as any in England, truly always fresher. As you 
look at these plants and trees, growing the year round, 
it seems that they must be tired, and need a Northern 
winter to sleep away a part of the year. 

THE SCHOOLS 

we found much better than we expected ; and, by the 
kindness of the superintendent, we were enabled to visit 
several of them. The scholars are much farther ad- 
vanced at the same age than with us ; and they excel in 
the languages. We found children ten to twelve speak- 
ing quite fluently French and German, and those, too, 
who hear only English at home. The}'' show great talent 
for the dramatic ; and, in the rendering of selections from 
the authors, they not only spoke well, but acted well, and 
brought into play accessories in costume and furniture 
in a manner creditable to an eastern Amateur Dramatic 



96 THE ATLANTIC 

Society. Music is given too mucli prominence, we mean 
instrumental ; and, in some of the more solid branches, 
the schools are not up to ours : but they are creditable to 
the city, whose people are wise in fostering and advan- 
cing the interests of popular education. Our visits to 
the schools were full of interest and instruction. 

MANUFACTURING INTERESTS. 

There is in the city but very little manufacturing of 
any kind. The Mission Woollen Mills are now, by 
the union of the Pacific with this company, and using 
Chinese labor, enabled to keep their machinery run- 
ning. The market being so limited, they are forced to 
produce a great variet}'' of fabrics, among which the 
" Mission blanket " is justly celebrated the world over. 
Some few shoe-factories are carried on with Chinese 
labor ; but, aside from these, but little is done : and 
Chicago — now so near, since the railroad was completed 
— is made to supply what the city ought to produce within 
itself The click of machinery, the hum of the loom, 
and the puff of the steam-engine, all are lacking, which 
make ISTew-England cities so full of life, and which tell 
that within our workshops are being fashioned the most 
curiously-formed products, both useful and ornamental, 
which other States will need in exchange for the farm- 
er's grains and cattle. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 97 

THE BANKS AND CUBRENCT. 

As is well known, California, unwisely as it seems 
to us and now to very many of her j^eople, refused a 
paper currency, and has to this day used only gold and 
silver. That they are now learning that a paper note, 
when duly honored, is more convenient for use than 
coin, is at last acknowledged by the bankers and mer- 
chants in the demand for a national gold bank, which 
has recently been established, and whose issues, in 
lieu of coin, are eagerly sought for by the people. The 
smallest piece of money used, after the early custom of 
using gold-dust ceased, was an old ninepence (twelve 
and one-half cents), which was always called a " bit." 
A quarter of a dollar was a '• two-bit piece," a half- 
dollar a " four- bit piece," &c. Now that this coin has 
departed, and the nomenclature as well as practice 
remains, a great difficulty is experienced. If you buy 
any thing for a " bit," and hand a quarter in payment, 
they return you ten cents in change, which would be, 
as they would say, taking the "long bit ; " the " short 
bit " being a dime. A person who tenders a dime for a 
" bit " is stamped as a mean man, and is avoided : so 
what is demanded is, that you should try to pay about 
equally lo?ig and short No nickels are seen, and very 
few silver fives. The leading bankers, I think, are now 



98 THE ATLANTIC 

satisfied that it would have been better to have adopted 
our common currency ; and, if this State had, long ago 
the difference between gold and greenbacks would have 
been eliminated by the general confidence in our paper. 
I discover two reasons which determined the course: 
first, as the people had always been accustomed to gold 
coin, never having used paper currency, it was a dif- 
ficult matter to effect a change ; and, secondly, it must 
be said, although I regret it, that there was a large and 
very influential minority who were favorable to the 
South ; and, although there was always a majority of 
loyal people, still the influence of this minority gave a 
tone to all political acts and measures. The Bank of 
California is the leading financial institution, and wields 
an immense influence, and is presided over by Mills and 
Kalston so ably, tliat it has the confidence of the entire 
financial world. 

HORSE-CAES. 

The manner of getting around the city in the cars, — 

" For ways that are dark, 
And for tricks that ai'e vain, 
. . . are peculiar." 

The cars are of all sorts and sizes, — two-norse cars, 
four-horse cars, and down to a one-horse car j and the 



TO THE PACIFIC. 99 

prices for riding in these conveyances vary, like the cars, 
from three cents up to seven cents. As they have no 
change, you are forced to take tickets, or pay a dime for 
a ride. The consequence is, that, after you have been 
in " Frisco " a few days, you have a collection of car- 
tickets, which, for variety in shape, color, and printing, 
cannot be surpassed. The roads do not generally ex- 
change; but the three-cent line takes a seven-cent 
ticket of any other company. How the people submit 
to such inconvenience one cannot tell ; but I suppose a 
horse-railroad company is substantially of the same 
genus in " Frisco " that it is in — say Boston. 

And now a few words upon that greatest of all the 
institutions on the Pacific, the 

CHINESE. 

If ever there was a study which repaid one, it is to 
learn of this curious people, who, transplanted from 
their "native heath," are trying in this foreign land to 
preserve the customs of their country. Meeting with 
many difficulties, suffering much, working hard, they 
still succeed in maintaining their own Josh House, 
their own theatre, and in not at all mixing with the 
white race. 

There are, at present, rising twelve thousand in the 



100 THE ATLANTIC 

city ; for although there are large monthly arrivals, still 
the demand for their labor in the country keeps the 
average very nearly the figures stated. They swarm 
in the section around Sacramento Street, and are scat- 
tered throughout the city. 

For the most part, they are sober, kind, and submis- 
sive, and in certain places they are exceedingly valua- 
ble as servants. It is the custom here to have a Chi- 
naman as chsimheTmaid ; and your cook is a "John," 
who — arrayed in neat blue tunic, with pigtail, black 
and neatly braided, reaching to the heel of his thick, 
cork-soled slippers, and whose big trousers at least hide 
ungraceful legs — goes about his work without bluster, 
and sends to your table dishes exquisitely prepared. 
Your dinner is served by a "little John," in tunic as 
white as snow ; and your garden is weeded by another, 
in a hat so large, that, looking down upon it, you see 
no "John," or any thing else save bamboo braided into 
a peculiar shape. 

The Chinese have monopolized the laundry business ; 
and in this they excel. You see around the city little 
signs over little doors in little buildings, upon which is 
printed High Lung, washing and ironing ; Hup Lee, 
Quon Lee, Hi Boo, or Le Chung, either one of whom 
will come for your linen, and return it in a short time 
nicely prepared, and at very low prices. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 101 

Chinese servants quit without notice, or without giving 
any reason for so doing; but, aside from this, a large 
majority of them are faithful at their work, easy to learn, 
and exceedingly neat. 

They are addicted to gambling; but theirs is the only 
fair game that I ever knew to be practised for this pur- 
pose. It is simply this: A grave-looking Chinaman 
sits at the head of a long table, before him a large heap 
of checJcs, or chips, round, w4tli a hole in the centre : a 
handful of these is taken up, and laid away nearer the 
centre of the table. Upon the left of the umpire sits 
the banker, who now wagers something from his bank, 
— seldom over fifty cents, — that there are either an odd 
or an even number in the heap. Some one of the 
crowd now wagers as much money as the banker 
against him. If any other one bets, then the banker 
must advance the same amount; the money being laid 
upon a little board marked off into squares. The cus- 
tomers use representatives of money ; while the banker 
lays down the coin. If a party loses, he settles up for 
his checks. When all are done, the umpire, with ivory 
stick slowly draws the checks one by one from the pile, 
and places them in tiaos back in the large pile. The 
experienced eye of the Chinaman, long before they are 

all drawn away, will detect whether the number is odd 
9* 



102 THE ATLANTIC 

or even, and so whether he has won or lost. This causes 
a general talk in a most animated manner. 

The banker would seem to have no advantage, save 
a small fee which is charged for the privileges of the 
house ; and, if people must gamble, the plan of the Chi- 
naman is highly recommended. It is by far fairer than 
the modes adopted and practised in that great den at 
Saratoga owned and run by ex-Congressman Morrissey, 
or at any other gambling-saloon, if I am rightly in- 
formed by " those who have been there." Bret Harte's 
Chinaman had evidently learned all his tricks from 
some old Californian, who, about ready " to pass in his 
checks," w^as willing to tell others "how it was done." 

Many of them are intelligent, and come from home 
with a knowledge of simple English words : all of them 
know how to read in their native tongue, to count, and 
to keep accounts. I made the acquaintance of many 
Chinese gentlemen, not only of intelligence, but of cul- 
ture, and whose friendship I prize. 

They live very frugally; rice and pork forming their 
chief food, with chickens, of which the}^ are passionately 
fond, when they can get them ; and often their last 
" bit " goes for a hit of chicken. Tea is their favorite 
drink. 

We lunched one day at the fashlonahle Chinese res- 
taurant, and, for the first time in our life, knew what a 



TO THE PACIFIC. 103 

good cup of tea was. We could not use tlie chop-sticks. 
so we could not eat rice ; but we took from the tray, 
filled with nice-looking viauds, which is always brought, 
some very delicate cake with almonds in it. This was 
the place where the wealthy Chinamen lived ; hut in 
the other restaurants the food seemed to be good : but of 
course, as in all such communities, there were places 
where you would not believe one could taste what was 
called food. At night they huddle together in the 
smallest space. 

They keep innumerable little shops. The doctor has 
his filled with all sorts of barks, leaves, and berries ; the 
tea-man has his teas ; the grocer has his supply of china- 
packed goods, including jars of the choicest ginger; 
the butcher has his stall full of the most curiously cut 
bits of pork, often smoked black, chicken, and fish ; 
the clothier has his tunics, trousers, hats, caps, and 
slippers. The great tea-merchants have simply an 
office, as they deal only in large quantities direct from 
China. There is among them an artist, who paints in 
oil, or johotographs with Chinese accessories, doing 
creditable work. Their theatre is a favorite place of 
amusement ; and the piece which is now on was begun 
at the opening of tlie house, years ago, and will occupy 
many years more to complete it: hence the necessity 
of going often to keep up an interest in the play. 



104 THE ATLANTIC 

Their Joss-houses are attended upon fete days of 
their church. Here they have their hideous images 
of the good, the evil, the pretty princess, the man 
cast out of heaven, the great prince, &c., before all of 
whom the sandal-wood taper is kept burning, and 
dishes of food in great abundance are placed for the 
gods to eat. Adornments of odd designs cover the 
sides and ceilings of the rooms ; and a great bell, which 
is beaten at times of worship, stands near the door. 
These temples are presided over by a soothsayer, who 
sits in his little office, and writes almost continuously, as 
if he had a great book to complete ; and, as he writes, he 
mutters the words of the legend. 

The whole of the Chinese religion is simply this, 
stripped of its forms of development : They believe 
that there are two spirits, — the good and the evil. The 
good cannot do harm in any way; as it is good, it can 
do only good : but the evil, while it cannot do good, 
may not do bad ; so they try to appease the evil spirit, 
that it may not exercise its terrible power. This they do 
chiefly by keeping him well fed, and by following certain 
rules of life, which traditions from the old philosophers 
have taught them to be the proper way to live, that 
after death, if the evil spirit does not come, they shall 
dwell in peace and happiness. But in heaven, constant 
care must be taken lest they may be cast out, like 



TO THE PACIFIC. 105 

the man whose image is always set up in their Joss- 
house as a warning. There is a deep philosophy in 
their religion, which Confucius gave them, and which, 
with the lapse of time, they have not lost. The Chinese 
are honest, — a trait which seems to be a part of their 
natures ; and a close study of them for five weeks leads 
me to hope that we shall soon have them in the East, 
not to come into opposition to any form or kind of labor, 
to injure any class, but to take their places side by side 
with all, and do their share of the labor, which is far 
more rapidly increasing than are the hands to do it. 
As soon as the present laboring-classes of the East un- 
derstand them, they will cease their opposition, and 
allow them to take such places as they are fitted for. 

When I speak of the grape-growing interests of Cali- 
fornia, it will be seen how advantageous they have 
been, saving from utter ruin an enterprise of which now 
the whole country is proud, and continuing it in pros- 
perity where no other people could or would work. 

So my voice is for the Chinaman, praising his virtues, 
and dealing leniently with his many faults. 



CHAPTER XV. 

The Hotels. — The People and Home. — The Amusements. — Free 
Lunches. — The Libraries. — The Pioneers. — The Bohemian 
Club. — Art and the Artists. — Goat Island, and what Gov. 
Stanford says. — The Future of San Francisco. 

Before closing what I have to say about San Fran- 
cisco, mention ought to be made of the liotels. No city- 
is better supplied. The four large houses — Grand, Lick, 
Occidental, and Cosmopolitan — oifer pleasant homes. 
As the Grand is new, it is filled with tourists ; the wide- 
spread reputation of the Occidental brings all the busi- 
ness-men to its halls ; while the Lick is a great family 
boarding-house, whose magnificent dining-room used to 
be thronged with the elite of the city. Hotel life is not 
as general as it was formerly ; and, the supply being 
greater tlian the demand, hotel property is at a sad 
discount just now. 

It is often stated that you can live cheaper in this 
city than elsewhere ; but, with equal accommodations, I 
can live as cheaply at the Hoffman in New York as at 

106 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 107 

either of the first-class houses here : and the Hoifman is 
the ne plus ultra of American hotels. 

THE PEOPLE. 

You meet so many Eastern men, indeed, so many 
whom you have known before, that you feel quite at 
home. We expected to stay in this far-oif city like a 
stranger in a foreign land, making it only the base from 
which to start upon excursions throughout the country 
and adjoining States. But the people of San Francisco, 
proud of their city and State, did all in their power to 
make my sojourn pleasant : and how well they succeeded, 
let a prolonged stay of seven weeks attest. To all 
whom we met, the thought was dear, that some day 
they were going back home to the rugged scenes of 
New England, the great farmhouse of Pennsylvania, or 
to the land through which flows the noble Hudson with 
its villa-crowned banks. The father, the mother, and 
children, all talked of home, questioning you closely, 
even though twenty years had passed since the father, 
with mother and little ones, made the weary journey 
across the desert, over the mountains and plains, in the 
slow ox-team. ^ They are, as a class of people, very hos- 
pitable and free, live easily, and spend their money with- 
out stint. Such a people demand places of resort ; and 



108 THE ATLANTIC 

they have them in this city in every form, — gardens, 
theatres, circuses, saloons, skating-rinlis where a polished 
floor takes the place of ice, and restaurants where choice 
viands are set before you. 

Liquor-drinking is here perfectly open and free ; and 
the bars are fitted up in the most elaborate and costly 
manner, with choice woods worked into the most artistic 
panels and mouldings, with mirrors of costly plate, and 
with all the appurtenances of the bar of pure silver. 
There are at all the bars, during certain hours, free 
lunches; and in some places on and near California 
Street, you can, by purchasing a glass of wine for two 
bits (twenty-five cents), obtain an elaborate dinner. It 
seemed a contradiction that a man could make profits and 
carry on such an establishment ; yet they succeed, and 
are making fortunes for their proprietors. During the 
whole da,y, drinks are dispensed; but the price is always 
the same, — twent^^'-five cents. There are other places 
where a dime is charged, and where the lunch is less elab- 
orate. All are carried on in the most orderly manner, and 
not a noisy or drunken man is to be seen. Let one live 
a while here, and observe this peculiar development in 
society, and he is forced to the opinion, that one way to 
stop the excessive and intemperate use of liquor is to 
make its sale and use as open as possible. 

In the East we drink behind curtains and screens; 



TO THE PACIFIC. 109 

here in a room carpeted with Brussels, and furnished 
with velvet-cushioned chairs, and open to the street by 
plate-glass windows and doors. During my whole 
sojourn here, only a few intoxicated persons have been 
seen. These facts are stated, not to favor the use of 
liquor, but that some lessons may be drawn that will aid 
in the suppression of an evil which is so cursing the 
country. 

The city is too young to have many libraries, picture- 
galleries, or museums. 

The Mercantile Library and the Mechanics Institute 
are both creditable, and, in the freedom with which 
they distribute their books among the members, show 
that they believe libraries to be for use, not for mere 
ornament to some frescoed room. 

THE PIONEERS 

is a society composed of all those who landed in Califor- 
nia prior to the first day of January, 1850. It has a 
fine hall, offices, reading-rooms, library, &c., in a build- 
ing owned by them on Montgomery Street. Here are 
preserved the trophies of the early days of California; 
the old "bear-flags" adorn the walls; and in these 
rooms are nightly gathered those whose names and 

deeds are so closely connected with the founding and 
10 



110 THE ATLANTIC 

early history of the State. It was to us a rare treat to 
visit the rooms of this society, whose hospitalities we 
received through W. K. Van Alen, Esq., and there 
meet the very men of whom we had read, hear from their 
own lips of the struggles and hardships which sur- 
rounded the birth of the State, and those still harder 
struggles which freed the country of the desperadoes and 
ruffians who so long infested the Pacific Coast. 

THE BOHEMIAN CLUB 

is composed of the artists and literati of the city ; and 
their kindness in giving me the freedom of their ele- 
gantly-furnished room added much to complete the 
entire comfort and happiness of my visit. Here every 
afternoon, after business, and during the evening, are 
gathered in these cosey parlors genial spirits ; and the 
hours glide away so pleasantly, that all cares are for- 
gotten, and upon the faces of all hang 

" Wreathed smiles, 
Such as Hebe brings." 

Here we met M. Pavy, the distinguished Frenchman, 
who is fitting out an expedition to the north pole, and 
from him- gathered some facts upon his proceeding in 



TO THE PACIFIC. Ill 

his explorations. As a memento of our interview is 
written in my journal the following : — 

" Bon souvenir de mon voyage a San Francisco. 

" Octave Pavy. 

"JuiN, 1872." 

Who can fail to he happy with the Bohemians ? 
May success and prosperity attend the club ! for, without 
it, a visit to this city would be robbed of much of its 
interest to me. They seem to carry into practice the 
German proverb, " He who creates a laugh creates for- 
getfulness ; and he who creates forgetfulness distributes 
oblivion." 

ART AND TH:E ARTISTS. 

We had the great pleasure of attending, on the even- 
ing of June 18, the first reception of the Art Associa- 
tion. In well-appointed rooms on Pine Street, which 
the association have fitted up for a permanent gallery, 
were gathered the artists and their friends, a brilliant 
assembly, to view the pictures, and pass a very enjoy- 
able evening. The pictures were not numerous, and 
many seemed to us very badly hung : still, for the first 
reception in a new city, and so far from the great art 
centres, it was very creditable. 

Bierstadt, who resides at San Eaphael, a few miles 



112 THE ATLANTIC 

from the city, is represented by " Mt. Hood" and 
" Catliedral Eocks " in the Yosemite. His '' Mt. Hood " 
is a grand picture, and full of those pleasing "bits of 
painting " which he can so well put upon canvas, — as 
in this, the herd of deer browsing and feeding upon the 
margin of the quiet lake. 

Thomas Hill, who is for the present here, sends " A 
View from Point Lobos,'Mn which you see the great 
waves of the Pacific dashing against the cragged rocks 
and among the deep caverns of the shore. The picture 
is truthful in showing the brown look of the cliffs, and 
the dreamy atmosphere which alway surrounds them. 
Kidd, formerly of Albany, but now located here, gave 
us two very pleasing pictures, of which the one, " A 
Dead Mule on the Prairie," was, in drawing and details, 
a capital picture. This artist paints his animals with 
the greatest truthfulness, but fails in landscape effect. 
Brooks sent two exquisitely-painted salmon, and several 
still-life pieces. Por us, in most of his pictures, he 
spoils the effect of his fish or game by too much elabora- 
tion in the surroundings. A fish never looks better 
than when first drawn from the water, and lying upon 
the rocks or in the grass: by the time it reaches the 
place of fine tables and draperies, most of its character 
is gone. Loomis placed upon the walls a landscape, 
which, though it failed to attract much attention, still 



TO THE PACIFIC. 113 

was as choice coloring as any of those exhibited. A 
picture by this artist in another place, and some pencil- 
drawings, gave us much satisfaction. If we mistake 
not, Mr. Loomis has charge of the drawing in some of 
the public schools. Irwin presented a portrait of the 
poet Miller ; and Champion several ; while Tojetti sent 
but one. These, with a large number of old master- 
pictures, said to be originals, but which we would stamp, 
without hesitation, as copies, and from the collection of 
the late Mr. Pioche, together with a few pieces of sculp- 
ture, formed the chief art attractions. The room was 
tastefully decorated by the lady-members ; the singing 
was called good ; and we passed a very enjoyable time. 

GOAT ISLAND. 

Undoubtedly you have known something of the great 

excitement which has stirred this city, caused by " The 

Goat Island scheme," as it is termed, and the question 

of ceding Mission Bay to the Central Pacific Pailroad 

Company. Kather than take any thing at second hand 

I had an interview personally with Gov. St<anford, and 

took occasion to discuss this matter. The city, as I 

understand (it being almost impossible to find any two 

who alike state their grievances), feel alarmed, that, if 

Congress should grant the railroad company even the 
10* 



114 THE ATLANTIC 

use of Goat Island, it would be immediately levelled 
down, and a city, as a rival to this, be built there, and 
at its wharves all the freights over the railroad would 
be transshipped; that the China steamers would make 
their terminus there, — all having a tendency to lessen 
San Francisco as a commercial city. The completion 
of the railroad has injured the business of the city, and 
hence lowered the value of real estate, by bringing 'New 
York within seven days of here. The buyers, instead 
of being forced to San Francisco markets, now find their 
way to the great metropolis. This feeling of depres- 
sion only makes the people the more sensitive to any 
thing which ma?/ injure their city. They have a com- 
mittee of one hundred, with chairman and secretary: 
but such bodies generally are impotent for good ; and 
in this case, if there are any real grounds for danger, the 
people had better not trust their future to such a com- 
mittee. The Mission Bay matter is this : The city 
gave to the company the land of this bay to be filled 
in out to a deep-water-front, to the extent of some sixty 
acres ; through this tract streets and avenues had been 
surveyed and platted. The compan}^ asked the board 
of supervisors to pass an order giving them those streets 
and alleys. As worded, it was rather indefinite ; and 
the people think, that, under this cover, they are endeav- 
oring to obtain a perpetual grant of this bay and India 



TO THE PACIFIC. 115 

and China basins, freed from all streets. So much for 
the city's side of this fight, the magnitude and bitter- 
ness of which can hardly be conceived b}^ one who has 
not been in the city. Gov. Stanford says, " The bill 
now pending before Congress asks that Goat Island be 
appraised, and rented to our company ; the government 
to reserve the right to repossess themselves at any time. 

"The fight has arisen more between the land specu- 
lators at Kavenswood on one side, and Saucelito on the 
other ; and the city between is made the apparent an- 
tagonist of the company. ~By a new road we can reach 
Oakland in about eighty-seven miles from Sacramento ; 
the road now through Livermore Pass being a hun- 
dred and thirty-seven miles. For this reason, we want 
Goat Island, that we may level down its outer edges, and 
erect storehouses thereon. It will bring us a mile 
nearer our business in the city, — Mission Bay. From 
here to our business, we should be obliged to use a 
ferry, as we do now to Oakland Point. 

"Goat Island is a barren rock three hundred and 
eighty feet high, situated in the bay about four miles 
from the Oakland shore, and its nearest point only five- 
eighths of a mile from the present wharf from which 
the ferry starts. 

" We intend to approach the city of San Francisco by 
three main lines, — one from Humboldt, Oregon, and all 



116 THE ATLANTIC 

west of Sacramento, centering at Saucelito, and thence 
by ferry to the city ; all east of Sacramento and the 
great valley of the San Joaquin, to Oakland as now; 
the southern roads, including the Southern Pacific lines, 
by rail direct to the city by way of San Jose. As 
a general principle, business must reach the city by the 
shortest and most direct route, and by the easiest 
grades. 

" It is folly for the people to say that we intend to 
level Goat Island, and build a city there. It would 
not pay us to do it : our business is in San Francisco. 
We have already real estate and improvements there 
valued at more than four millions and a half of dollars, 
and this city is our terminus; and there never has 
been any intention of making any other place or 
places the real terminus of our roads. This whole 
panic, which has so disturbed the people, is a foolish, 
unnecessary, and wicked plot ; and those who are aid- 
ing this excitement, which is so injurious to the trade 
and prospects of the city, are criminally to blame. I 
have faith in San Erancisco and her people : I shall 
oppose them only so far as self-protection' of our road 
is required, believing, that, in time, they will see the 
right, and understand the motives which have actu- 
ated me, and the officers of the company, in the course 
which we have pursued." 



TO THE PACIFIC. 117 

Thus rests the quarrel, so injurious to both city and 
company ; and while it lasts the people must suffer in 
the stagnation of trade and all business enterprises. 

THE FUTURE OF THE CITY. 

Although I find that the dreams of the people of 
the effect of the railroad across the continent have 
not been realized, although all business is stagnated, 
lands less valuable than before, business-property sadly 
depreciated, and a people in their business dis- 
heartened, still I believe that San Francisco is destined, 
by a slower but steadier growth, to march on to a 
grander national importance. The great valleys will 
send to her storehouses their unmeasured yield of wheat ; 
energy, and better knowledge of the manner of working 
the mines, will force the mountains to yield up their 
treasure ; the wine-growing interest will add to its 
wealth ; the south will contribute its varied fruits and 
nuts ; ships from China and Japan must find here a 
port ; and soon, I have no doubt, Australia will send 
her mails and treasure to this city, to be transported 
across the continent to the steamers at New York : 
and thus it is that San Francisco must ever remain 
the mistress of " our western ocean," 

And now, with many thanks to all my friends in the 



118 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

" City at the Bay " for their attentions, I must take my 
leave of San Prancisco by addressing to her these beau- 
tiful words of her own poet, Bret Harte : — 

" Serene, indifferent of Fate, 
Thou sittest at the Western Gate. 

Upon thy heights so lately won 
Still slant the banners of the sun. 

Thou seest the white seas strike their tents, 
warder of two continents ! 

And, scornful of the peace that flies 
Thy angry winds and sullen skies, 

Thou drawest all things, small or great, 
To thee, beside the Western Gate." 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Napa Valley. — Napa City and its Gardens. — White Sulphur 
Springs. — Calistoga, the Saratoga of the Pacific. — The Bide 
up to the Great Geysers. 

Ox the 23d of May we started upon our trip through 
the 

NAPA VALLEY. 

Taking the four-o'clock hoat, we had a delightful sail 
through the hay to Vallejo. As we leave the city, we 
pass in sight of the Golden Gate and Fort Point, along- 
side of Alcatraz and Angel Island, thence through the 
Straits of San Quentin into the Bay of San Pahlo. 
This is a hroad expanse of water, bounded on all sides by 
high hills, save to the north-east, where Mare Island 
forms the harbor of Vallejo, and where begin the Straits 
of Carquinez, which open into Suisun Bay, into which 
empty both tlie great rivers called the Sacramento and 
San Joaquin. Upon Mare Island are erected the 
buildings connected with the navy-yard, including ex- 

119 



120 THE ATLANTIC 

tensive machine and other workshops, a hospital, great 
storehouses, a magazine for powder, and houses and 
quarters for the officers and men. In the river facing 
Vallejo have been built fine docks and wharves, which 
make safe landings for the largest vessels; while the har- 
bor is of a size sufficient to accommodate all the fleet of 
the country if necessary. Here lies the old "Kearsarge," 
whose crumbling frame and rotting timbers could now 
ill stand the battle, but whose every plank has been 
made famous by that terrible fight with the "Alabama." 

The city of Yallejo lies a little awaj^ from the landing, 
has the only steam-elevator in the State, some pretty 
good buildings, many poor ones, and looks very old. It 
is only kept alive by the trade of the soldiers ; but its 
people still cherish a fimcy that it is to be a great city. 
Of this place we cannot speak much praise ; for, with 
all its natural advantages of a fine harbor and govern- 
ment patronage, it seems to be asleep, almost dead. 

ISTear the city is the terminus of a railroad called the 
California Pacific, which formerly connected this city 
with Sacramento, but is now unused, a bridge being 
gone, as is said ; but no doubt the fact is, the " Central " 
is fi'eezing out some of the old stockholders who are 
unwilling to sell out.* 

* This route is now in order, and is by far the pleasantest way of going 
from Sacramento to San Francisco. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 121 

The road, by one branch, runs up the N'apa Valley, 
through one of the most beautiful and fertile of those 
many great plains which lie between the mountain- 
ranges of this State, this being the eastern one of three, 
— Sonoma, Petaluma, and Napa, — which start from 
the bay, and take a general north-west course. 

From Vallejo to Napa City the road follows Napa 
E-iver. The country around is pleasing, the ranches well 
formed, and the buildings better than in most parts of 
the State. This valley is productive in wheat, barley, 
corn, and grapes, yielding immense crops. But we are 
now in view of, and soon will be in, the very heart of 

NAPA CITY. 

This is a town of some four thousand people, lies upon 
the west bank of the river, is well laid out, contains 
many stores, two banks, has two daily papers, and is one 
of the flourishing towns. A little steamer and small- 
sized schooners run up to the city. The climate is very 
agreeable : the cold winds of San Francisco are here 
modified into soft and balmy breezes. About five miles 
from the city are soda-springs, where they dip up soda- 
water, put it into bottles, surcharge it a little more with 
gas collected from the spring, and send it away to be 

drunk by all. No fountains, no sulphuric acid, no lime- 
11 



122 THE ATLANTIC 

stone and intricate machinery, are here needed to manu- 
facture soda ; for Nature has her own laboratory, where 
she makes this " delicious drink." By politeness of the 
Messrs. Goodman, bankers, we were shown around the 
city. In the garden of Mr. George Goodman we saw 
finer roses, and by far finer pinks (both carnation and 
picotee), than we ever saw growing in the open air. 
Here were all the tea-roses, great beds of verbenas, and 
pinks in almost endless variety, and in size equal to Hen- 
derson's choicest blooms. He has a fine collection of 
conifers, among them the Sequoia, as well as many de- 
ciduous trees. All that is needed to make this one of 
the handsomest of gardens is a good lawn of fresh- 
growing grasses. The roses of ISTapa are the best I have 
found, the foliage entirely free from all insects and 
worms, and giving, I am told, blossoms every month 
in the year. 

Among the leading citizens of this pleasant little city, 
which nestles among her locust-trees, and is brilliant 
with her wealth of blossoms, is Mr. Smith Brown, who 
early left the town of Burrillville, R.I., to seek his for- 
tune in California ; and we were glad that he had found 
it. A long residence away has not weaned him from 
his old Bhode-Island notions ; and we found his house 
containing more of the old New-England "comforts" 
than any we visited in all California; and they were 
many. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 123 

But, if we delay longer at Napa, we shall miss the 
train which starts at eleven o'clock for St. Helena and 
Calistoga. The ride to the first-named town is even 
more interesting than that to Napa. The grape-lands 
begin ; and we see fields of twenty, fifty, and even a 
hundred acres planted out to the vine, and now in all the 
luxuriance of setting fruit. Large wine-houses are seen 
along the line ; and extensive farmhouses dot the land- 
scape, embowered among the beautiful trees for which 
this valley is famed. Many of the wealth}^ " Friscans " 
have their summer residences here, where they are pro- 
tected against the cold winds which make the city cli- 
mate so disagreeable, especially in summer. Among the 
many fine places, that of Woodward's seemed to be su- 
perior in its appointments and the great neatness which 
prevailed in every department. I noticed, that, in some 
places, the apple-orchards were badly stripped of their 
leaves by the caterpillar, but were told that it was quite 
uncommon. As we go north, the valley narrows so per- 
ceptibly, that it seems an easy walk between the hills 
which bound us on either side. All things considered, 
this is the best farming-section that I have seen, which 
is the secret of the wealth of the people who reside here. 
The rich farms will continue to pour their immense 
crops of wheat, barley, and wine into her storehouses, 
forcing Napa to become a city of importance. 



124 THE ATLANTIC 



We stop at a pretty little town called St. Helena, 
where we take a carriage for the 



WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS. 

They are some two miles up a beautiful canon ; and, 
as we drove up to the hotel, we felt assured that we had 
found the gem of California resorts. There are nine 
of these springs, the largest one of which discharges 
six thousand a hundred and forty-four wine gallons 
per day. They were first discovered in 1850 ; having 
been a favorite resort for the Indians, to bathe in the 
warm waters, or drink them, and, with them, health. 
Around the pools, where the warm water gushes from 
the ground, they erected little huts of skins and barks, 
and in them sweated themselves in the hot sulphur 
vapors. 

The waters of these springs are warmer than most 
of the sulphur springs of Europe ; and they contain, be- 
sides sulphur, carbonate of lime, magnesia, sulphate of 
soda, salt, lime, &c. ; and many suffering from rheuma- 
tism and skin diseases told me they found great relief 
by the use of these waters. 

From the surrounding hills fine views are had ; and 
the various trails which have been cut lead you by easy 
grades to the tops of mountains, and along frowning 



TO THE PACIFIC. 125 

precipices. You must bear in mind that we are in a 
little gulch between towering hills ; that there is little 
room to spare, for the hotel buildings occupy nearly all 
the space; that across the ravine, just beyond, lies 
another hill, so that, to get out of this retreat, we must 
retrace our steps. The hillsides are occupied by 
pretty cottages and sleeping houses ; for here they build 
summer hotels upon a plan which an inclement climate 
would forbid. The "hotel," as it is called, is a build- 
ing containing the office and a common parlor, adjoining 
which are neatly-arranged bath-rooms, into which the 
waters from the spring are conducted ; across the drive- 
way is the dining-room, and to the right the billiard- 
hall ; the kitchens are farther back ; and up the gulch 
are several buildings, divided each into three sections, 
for sleeping-rooms. To the left of the hotel, on the pla- 
teau (upon which stood the finest summer hotel in the 
State, but which was unfortunately burned), have been 
erected some dozen single cottages. All the occupants 
of these various cottages take their meals at the com- 
mon dining-hall, or gather in the common parlor after 
dinner, but can at any time remain in their own cot- 
tage as quietly and as secluded as they desire. The 
grounds are laid out with taste ; and the most scrupulous 
neatness is shown on every hand. 

The hills, rising from seven to eight hundred feet, are 
11* 



126 THE ATLANTIC 

well wooded, and clothed in exquisite flowers ; and up 
the gulch a little way is a grove of seven redwood- 
trees, the only specimens of this tree in many a mile, — 
the only ones I have found since leaving the Truckee 
region in the Sierras. A stream runs through the 
estate, in which there is good fishing. 

The genius of the place is Mr. John Bremberg, whose 
position is express-agent, telegraph-operator, writer of 
the bills of fare, catcher of butterflies, superintendent 
of the baths, general helpmeet for everybod}'-, and 
charged with the important duty of making every one 
happy. To attend to all his duties, of course, John is 
kej)t busy ; and he rushes here and there, he sweats and 
foams, but always has a kind word for all. For now it 
is some little child who wants John to help at her play, 
and he goes ; now some old lady wants John to come 
and pack up her trunk, and off he goes; or some 
"Spanish beauty" comes for John to go for a walk, and 
protect her against snakes, and he goes willingly. He 
keeps a medicine-chest, which has gained him the title 
of " doctor ; " and, as he peers over his gold-bowed spec- 
tacles, he does really look ivise, which, in these latter 
days, is all that is required to make an M.D. Mr. 
Bremberg is an intelligent gentleman when not over- 
whelmed with official duties; and in another avocation 
the same industry would bring him renown. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 127 

This establishment is conducted by Mr. Severn 
Alstroom, — who opened the Lick House in San Fran- 
cisco ; and by his liberal management gave it a great 
reputation, although at a serious pecuniary loss to him- 
self, — aided by a very gentlemanly clerk, Mr. Wickes. 
To forget our visit to White Sulphur Springs was im- 
possible ; and when the clock struck seven, the time to 
leave for the train, we turned away from so pleasant a 
spot and so genial a company with regrets. 

From St. Helena, a ride of nine miles brings us to the 
town, Calistoga, the derivation of which is easily per- 
ceived, — calls "hot," and toga "a garment." The 
name was given by a gentleman who had received bene- 
fit from the numerous hot sulphur springs here. The 
" Little Geysers," as they are called, were used by the 
Indians ; and over them they erected their sweating- 
huts, remains of which were found here. The railroad 
terminates here; and the train which leaves the city at 
four o'clock, P.M., reaches the town at eight in the even- 
ing. Here begin the wagon-roads, which traverse the 
great defiles in the mountains, up to the Great Geysers, 
the Clear Lake, the Petrified Forest, and Mt. St. Helena. 
This mountain rises forty-three hundred and sixty feet 
above the plain, and was named b}'- the Kussians in honor 
of Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. A 
valley near by, and in which the Spanish permitted the 



128 THE ATLANTIC 

Russians of Alaska to come and raise their wheat, is 
still known as E-ussian Valley. 

The town has no other importance than being the 
railroad station for the " Springs," which is undoubtedly 
the " Saratoga " of the West. Here, as at White Sul- 
phur, we have a hotel, and a great number of pretty cot- 
tages, each with a poetical name, as Kevere, Occidental, 
Adelphi, Delevan, &c., and arranged in a circle around 
the central building. Over the springs have been 
erected fantastic structures, which mar the landscape, 
but which have been built to please the fancy of the 
proprietor, Sam Branuan, as he is familiarly called. 
Mr. Brannan was one of the early pioneers, and has 
done as much as any one man to develop the resources 
and advantages of the State. In conversation, he 
charms you with interesting descriptions of the "olden 
times." To him alone belongs whatever Calistoga and 
its surroundings are to-day; and with lavish hand he 
has tried to make the place beautiful. But his trees, 
plants, and vines, gathered from every quarter of the 
globe, have been a failure; for nothing, the roots of 
which extend more than a foot into the ground, will 
grow here, owing to the heat, as well as to the mineral 
deposits. 

Every kind of a bath which Mr. Brannan ever saw, 
read of, or heard of, he has here reproduced ; and it 



TO THE PACIFIC. 129 

would seem, that, by the number, he had counted up the 
numerous ills of life, and for each prepared his panacea. 
People from all over the State, and of course all tourists, 
come here to spend a few days in a climate genial and 
warm, ranging from 50° at night to 86° at noon, and 
but seldom varying from these figures. The house 
is in charge of Mr. Badlam, who seems to know how to 
keep a hotel. 

The drives through the grounds are delightful ; and a 
close examination of the springs reveals their wonderful 
character ; for here are waters from cold to boiling, and 
pouring from the earth within a circuit of an eighth of 
a mile, and each spring different in the component parts 
of the water. There is one spring the waters of which, 
by adding a little pepper and salt, become chicken-soup, 
— at least as much "chicken '^ in it as most hotels use 
in these days. 

GREAT GEYSERS. 

But the end of all this journey is a ride over the 
mountain-road, and the Great Geysers at the end of 
the road ; and we must arrange with Foss, that knight 
of the whip known all over California, for our seat in 
to-morrow's stage. 



130 THE ATLANTIC 

THE MOUNTAIN-RIDE. 

We find that the engineer who built that road, Mr. 
William Patterson, is to go to-day over the road ; and 
we gladly accompany him. We are to be driven in a 
four-horse coach, by an experienced driver, , who does 
not yield the ribbons even to Foss. Punctuall}^ at 
seven we are off, a jolly company of eight, for the 
wonderful mountain which is on fire ; and away through 
the village we dash. The first ten miles of the road is 
uninteresting, — a wild and broken country, with hardly 
a liabitation in sight. So far, we are on a country road : 
we change horses, and strike off upon a run over the 
mountain road proper; and our interest begins. Around 
the sides of the hills we wind, and up the rocky faces 
of mountains, where our track has been blasted out of 
the solid rock, just wide enough for a single carriage. 
There are places, where, if the wheel should turn from 
its course one-half a foot, the carriage would plunge 
down a precipice from two to three thousand feet. As 
we ride along, the difficulties which beset the workmen 
upon the road are pointed out and explained ; and at 
every step a new interest is excited, new views ob- 
tained, and new dangers successfully passed. 

Mr. Foss was born among the granite hills of New 
Hampshire, and there imbibed his love for the moun- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 131 

tain-roads. This one he projected; and it was built 
during 1868 and 1869. The first stage-trip was made 
July 3j 1869 ; and they have since been continued dur- 
ing each season. The length of the road is seventeen 
miles, two chains, from the end of the country road, and 
cost, in round numbers, twenty-two thousand dollars. 
The highest grade is one foot in ten ; but the average 
is one foot in eight. Calistoga is four hundred feet 
above the sea; the summit is thirty-six hundred feet; 
and the plateau, upon which stands the hotel at the 
Geysers, is seventeen hundred feet. 

While we have been talking, we have reached the 
summit ; and we stop to look at as grand a spectacle as 
the eye can behold. In front far, far below us, we see 
the line of the great Russian Valley; but the mountains 
beyond seem so near, that, at this altitude, the plain of 
the valley is lost sight of. Around us on every side rise 
hills piled one upon another ; mountain succeeds moun- 
tain, with gorges, ravines, and canons between them; the 
clouds, fleecy and white, as they scud over our heads 
seem within reach. Magnificent flowers have made our 
ride charming ; the lupins, the geraniums, and mountain 
daisies greet us; while the ceonothus, in many colors, 
adorns the hills. The madrona with its curious bark, 
the manzanita Avith its curious-colored wood and peculiar 



132 THE ATLANTIC 

growth, the several varieties of oaks, firs, and cedars, all 
line our track, and offer here and there refreshing shade. 
Our ride up to this point has been slow; but now 
even the horses seem to know that the rest of the w^ay 
lies down hill ; for at the word they prick up their ears, 
and start upon a run ; the driver screams, and cracks his 
whip; the horses catch the excitement, and are soon 
going at a twenty-mile gait. For the whole eight miles 
down, there is no quarter-mile, where, for that distance, 
the road is straight, but it winds and twists, makes ox- 
yoke curves, crosses dashing brooks, by dancing water- 
falls, and over yawning ravines, always seeming to you 
that the end has come to that road, but always finding 
some way out. The eight miles have been done in some 
thirty minutes ; and we are nearing the hotel, where we 
are to rest for the night within sound of the hissing and 
roaring of the steam. The genial German, Susenbeth 
by name, always called Susey for short, is at the piazza 
to welcome us, and help us shake ourselves free of dirt 
and dust, and assures us that there is no danger. 

As we were running down the mountains, with our 
well-trained team at their speed, and guided by " Corneil 
Nash," we said to him, ^'Are you not sometimes afraid? 
and how do timid ladies like to ride in this manner ? " — 
" Perfectly safe, sir," said our knight. " Driven here 



TO THE PACIFIC. 133 

nine years, and no accident. Guess I'll land you at the 

hotel all right." And, now that we are over the road 

safely, let us praise the ^' bridge which has carried us 

over," and seek a rest after such a ride. 
12 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The Great Geysers. — What they are, and how they look. — Their 
Discovery. — The Ride back to Calistoga. 

THE GEYSERS. 

Our dinner was ready by the time we had the dust 
brushed from our clothes, and were in trim for table ; and, 
with appetites sharpened by our ride, we filed into as 
uninviting a dining-room as you could imagine. The 
walls were of rough boards, whitewashed; and even 
these were made to look more ugly by hanging upon 
them the advertisements of several insurance compa- 
nies, some of which we knew to he no unore since the 
Chicago fire. 

Our food was an attempt at the preparation of French 
dishes. There was an abundance of it; but, oh, what 
peculiar concoctions ! Still they all had splendid names. 

As I told you, " Susey " is a German ; his people 
around him are the same ; and his cook is probably of 
the same nationality, but with French aspirations in 

134 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 135 

cookery. A German always makes a poor show at imi- 
tating a Frenchman ; and a Gasthiilter who attempts to 
become a maitre d^ hotel does it at the peril of repu- 
tation. 

The food satisfied our hunger, — so much in its favor, 
— and we felt ready to explore the steaming and hiss- 
ing gorge which lay in front of us across the brook. To 
give an idea of our location, imagine a long building 
with a veranda in front, from each end of which, but 
upon opposite sides, extend other buildings, connected 
with the main one by covered passages. In one of 
these is the general parlor, in the other the dining- 
room ; while the main building contains the sleeping- 
apartments, which are arranged in two stories, and on 
the two sides ; those above as well as below being entered 
from the veranda. Standing in front of the main build- 
ing, and looking west, we have the whole extent of Pluton 
Canon in view. Geyser Caiion crosses it at right angles, 
just a little way from the hotel, and is far the larger ; 
quite a river, called Pluton, finding its course through it. 
All the near-by country is mountainous ; and upon the 
sides, and even around the springs, grow in luxuriance 
the oak and many woody shrubs, together with the ma- 
drona and manzaneta. Just at the head of Pluton 
Canon a rock juts out into the gorge, which has re- 
ceived the name of ^'The Pulpit.'' Here the canon 



136 THE ATLANTIC 

divides ; and to tlie right and left rise hills, whose sides 
in places are as precipitous and straight as the walls of 
a building. Looking far away, hills succeed hills ; while 
behind rises a great mountain with the euphonious. name 
of the Hog's Back. 

At about four o'clock, p.m., we started, under the con- 
duct of a guide, to explore the canon, and to take a near 
view of these wonderful springs. While the sun shines 
in the gorge, the steam which issues from the earth 
is dissipated by the heat ; but in early morning the 
whole canon is filled with the clouds of steam, which roll 
through the gorge, giving it a grand and awful appear- 
ance. Crossing Pluton River, we find ourselves at the 
bottom of the canon, which at this point is some thirty- 
five feet wide, but which narrows as we look up its 
whitened surface for some half a mile, at an angle of some 
forty-five degrees. There are about two hundred fountains, 
or springs, where steam, to a greater or less extent, issues 
from the ground. The guide having given to each a 
long, stout stick, we step upon the bed of mineral de- 
posits, which was once a steaming geyser, but the residu- 
um of which has for years been bleaching under the 
suns and rains of the recurring seasons. The first spring 
is the Alum and Iron, the temperature of which is 97° 
Fahrenheit, and around its sides are incrustations of iron. 
A little farther on we find a spring containing Epsom 



TO THE PACIFIC. 137 

salts, magnesia, sulphur, iron, &c., — a highly medicated 
compound, and which has heen named the Medicated 
Geyser Bath. Around us we see beds of crystallized 
Epsom salts. We pass in order Boiling Alum and Sul- 
phur Spring, Black Sulphur, Epsom Salts Spring, and 
Boiling Black Sulphur, which roars unceasingly. By 
far the largest is the Witches' Caldron, the diameter of 
which is about seven feet, and the waters of which boil 
and bubble, sometimes being thrown two feet into the air. 
It is said that all attempts to find a bottom have failed. 
We next reach the Intermittent Geyser, which some- 
times throws up boiling water fifteen feet in the air, but 
which was very calm the day we visited the caiion; the 
water being thrown only three or four feet. The Dev- 
il's Inkstand is a small spring, out of which flows a 
liquid which is a good substitute for ink, and which has 
the quality of being indelible. It is a custom to dip the 
end of your handkerchief into this spring, that you may 
carry away the ineffaceable mark of your visit. 

We are walking over ground which is honey-combed 
by extinct geysers ; and often our feet sink ankle-deep 
into the mineral deposits which have been left, or, again, 
we place a foot where the ground is too hot for comfort. 
As we are obliged sometimes to cross a space where the 
very earth seems on fire, and to step from stone to 
stone, between which are boiling, steaming openings, 

12* 



138 THE ATLANTIC 

from whicli arise snlpliury fumes so strong as almost to 
stifle you, it is hard to persuade yourself that you are 
not in the realms where old Pluto holds sway. 

The most wonderful (if one can be placed above 
another) of these springs is the Steamboat Geyser. It 
is on the left, and raised ten to fifteen feet above the 
canon level. From its many apertures issue steam, re- 
sembling in look, and especially in sound, the blowing 
off of steam in a steamboat. Around this spring, for 
some distance, are evidences that once the spring or 
springs extended over a much larger space. Just 
beyond this we reach the rock called " The Pulpit," 
which we saw from the veranda. We climb up there : 
the guide fires a pistol to let those at the hotel know 
that we have reached this place in safety. At this 
point, the canon makes a division, and we take the 
right. From these positions we have an extended view 
of the canon down its length ; and all these springs — 
even the Steamboat Geyser, the Witches' Caldron, and 
those boiling, sulphury fountains — are seen from above ; 
and, as we gaze, it seems impossible that we could have 
made our way up among them to this place. 

We pass on over the Mountain of Fire, which is cov- 
ered with orifices from which once poured fire and 
steam ; and around us, within a space of, say, one mile 
in length, and a few rods in width, we see strata of sul- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 139 

pliur, Epsom salts, alum, copperas, yellow ochre, magne- 
sia, cinnebar, ammonia, nitre, tartaric acid, &c. A 
little farther on, we find the Indian Spring, where the 
red men used to bring their sick to be healed, and 
where were found the rude sweating-huts erected by the 
natives. Here, in 1869, Edwin Forrest found great relief 
from the use of these waters. The Eye Water Spring 
has also effected many cures for weak and inflamed 
eyes. 

But a great whistling attracts our attention ; and, with 
the guide, we hasten on, and soon come to a small aper- 
ture, from which the issuing steam is carried into a 
small iron pipe made like a boy's whistle, which is thus 
made to screech fearfully. 

At this point we perceive that we have been nearing 
the hotel, although now at quite an elevation above it, 
and some distance away. A fine view is had of the 
surrounding hills ; and, after a rest, we make our way 
down the sides of the mountain, to Geyser Canon, and 
along the river to a bridge which spans it, and over this 
to the hotel. 

The guides who accompany us have a fashion of 
giving the name of every spring as in some way con- 
nected with the Devil, as, Devil's Kitchen, Devil's Office, 
Devil's Punch-Bowl, and many more in equally bad 
taste. I have avoided these names ; and if those who 



140 THE ATLANTIC 

have control over this property would have the canons 
surveyed and mapped, with the location of the principal 
springs, and give them names which would designate 
their properties, much would be done towards making 
them more generally known and deservedly popular. 

As soon as we reached the hotel, I asked the proprie- 
tor if he could tell me who discovered these springs. 
"Elliott," he said, "was the name; and upon an old 
register, the first the house had, I will show you the 
entry in his own handwriting." Taking from a desk an 
old hook, and turning over its pages, we found under 
date of April, 1847, the occasion of a visit of Elliott 
to the springs, the following : — 

"William B. Elliott was the first known visitor to 
the Geyser Springs, when out on a hear-hunt, and now 
resides at Clear Lake." 

Under this a friend has written in trembling hand, — 

" Poor fellow ! was killed by the Indians at Pyramid 
Lake, May, 1860." 

Thus is told the simple story of the discovery of 
these wonderful geysers, and the death of the hardy 
hunter, who modestly calls himself "the first known 
visitor." 

It is not my province to speculate upon the causes of 
these phenomena ; to scientific men I leave this : but 
still it is impossible not to philosophize upon the sights 



TO THE PACIFIC. 141 

which we have seen. Two theories are advanced, — one 
that they are produced by purely chemical action, and 
the other by volcanoes. To receive the latter would 
require some evidences of volcanic action in the hills 
and mountains around, which we fail to see ; and to 
accept the first seems to attribute to chemical force 
greater power than we had supposed could be thus pro- 
duced, — as in the great boiling caldron, or in the spring 
whose waters are sometimes thrown ten or even fifteen 
feet into the air. 

Keady for tea and an early bed, that we may have 
another view of the geysers in early morning, before 
the stage starts at seven o'clock, we seat ourselves upon 
the veranda. 

Our view of the gorge in the morning was grand ; 
for although it was not easy to examine minutely each 
spr'ng, still we saw the caiion filled with the boiling 
clouds of steam and sulphury vapor, and could hear the 
hissing and puffing of the innumerable orifices. 

But the stage is at the door, and we must be off for a 
climb to the summit of the mountain ; and, bidding 
adieu to the geysers, we begin our journey. The cool 
mountain-breezes fan our cheeks ; the great hills and tall 
trees temper the rays of the sun ; the flowers send forth 
their fragrance, and, with their varied blooms, allure us 
to remain among them. "Kash" was full of talk, and so 



142 THE ATLANTIC 

we had all the stories of the region ; and, with good com- 
pany and pleasing views, we found our toiling up-hill 
ride soon accomplished ; and a quick drive of a few miles 
brought us to Pine Flat, as it is called, where we find 
the stages which have come up from Calistoga, and in 
which we are to be taken back to the town. 

As soon as all things are ready, we start down hill 
(two stage-loads) ; and it was suggested that we time the 
drive down to the county-road, the distance being, as 
Mr. Patterson placed it, eight and one-eighth miles. 
Two reliahle gentlemen held the watches, while George 
Cromwell held the whip and ribbons. Away we dashed, 
at such a fearful, break-neck speed, that had not Patterson 
assured me that he built the road, and that Fosses stages 
and harnesses never gave way, I should have preferred 
to have been walking. Before we could make up our 
minds whether to complete the ride, or take to foot, we 
were reined into the stable-yard, where we change horses. 
That more than eight miles had been done in twenty- 
nine minutes (one watch showing a little less), and that, 
too, by a team of four horses, drawing a stage with six 
persons in it, seemed impossible. Where is Dexter? 
To be able to say that you have taken such a ride is 
worth quite a journey ; besides, it enables you to behold 
grand scenery, and witness some of the most curious 
developments of nature. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 143 

By the same uninteresting drive of ten miles, we were 
taken back to Galistoga, where " fashion reigns," and so 
different from the solitude which we left a few hours 
ago, — a place where the Creator has made it impossible 
to build cities, or for people to congregate ; a vast soli- 
tude, with springs and fountains sending forth health- 
giving waters, inviting to the sick and suffering. 

A rest during the afternoon prepared us to attend the 
little village church in the evening. Next morning we 
took the early train ; and in company with the mail 
agent, E. S. Parker, formerly of Providence, we made 
our return -journey through ISTapa Valley, to the boat at 
Vallejo ; and, at about twelve o'clock, we were back again 
at our hotel in San Francisco, after one of the most 
interesting and instructive excursions that we have ever 
made, — one which the tourist to California must not fail 
to enjoy. 

A rest of a few days, and we shall be off for the 
Santa Clara Valley, the city of San Jose, and the New 
Almaden quicksilver mines. 



CHAPTER XVITI. 

Santa Clara Valley, and the Cities of San Jose and Santa Clara. — 
The Mission. — The Col!e«;e. — The Alameda. — Pnblic and Pri- 
vate Buildin<;s, — The New Ahnaden Quicksilver Mines. 

On tlu^ 20(li of May wc set out for a trip through tho 

SANTA CLAKA VALLEY. 

After an early breakfast, we wended our way to the 
de[)6t of tlie Southern Vaeiiic Kailroad, on INIarket 
Street ; and at eiglit o'clock we were rolling out of the 
city. As soon as we were out of the suburbs, the fer- 
tile farms of San Mateo County were seen upon either 
side of the line. A glance at a map of California will 
aid my readers in fixing in mind the location of the 
towns and places which I shall describe. We are now 
going in a south-easterly direction, along a narrow ridge 
of laud, which pushes north towards a similar jutting 
spur, which extends to the south, and separates the 
Bay of San Francisco from the Pacific, and which, by 

144 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 145 

tlieir peculiar formation at thoir nearest point of meet- 
ing, have received the name of " Golden Gate." As wo 
pass along the low stretch of shore to the east, towards 
the bay, we have on the west the hills of the Sierra 
Monte Diabalo range, which, hide from view the ocean, 
but back of which we can see the huge fog-clouds which 
the Pacific so delights to send up from its placid 
bosom. 

A few miles out we pass directly through the great 
farm of 1). 0. Mills, Esq., pr(!siderit of the J>ank of 
California: on the right, just u}>on the foot-hills, stands 
his palatial residence, built of brick, in the style of the 
French Henaissance, surrounded by elaborately formed 
houses of glass, which are a necessity with us, but here 
more for ornament, as it is only for a fjw weeks, during 
the great rains, that any plants, even those in. pots, 
require protection. Near the track are situated his ex- 
tensive barns, milk-houses, and other necessary farm- 
buildings, up to the doors of which a "siding" has 
been run, so that the milk from his great dairy can be 
taken directly from the barn upon the cars, to be trans- 
ported, in a very short time, to the city. Away to the 
east a beautiful r(;ach of low, marshy meadow inter- 
venes between us and the waters of tin; bay. The 
whole farm smacks of unbounded wealth 5 and it s(!enis 
a good omen that Mr. Mills prefers to carry on this 

13 



146 THE ATLANTIC 

magnificent farm, improve the breed of cattle and 
horses, by experiment decide the most useful crops, 
and, by his example, teach others how to till the 
ground, that health and plenty may come to the 
people of the State. 

But our train draws up at a station called Belmont : 
and, as we had been told that this was the station near- 
est "Kalston's royal mansion," we looked around in 
hopes of seeing that house ; but it is so situated among 
the foot-hills, that it cannot be seen from the road. 
When I describe an entertainment given a party of 
ladies and gentlemen at this mansion, and of whom I 
had the good fortune to be one, I hope to make you 
acquainted wdth the house and grounds, and know 
something of the sumptuousness of the private life of a 
rich Californian. 

We now enter the valley proper by making a little 
turn eastward ; and at once we see that we are within 
one of Nature's great parks. This valley has been 
often called the " garden of the State ; " but we would 
rather term it the "park." The great oak-trees, both the 
black and the live oak, stand in all their majesty upon 
the plain, and from their branches hang the mosses, 
just as 3^ou see them in the far South. They are scat- 
tered through the fields just as the landscape-gardener 
would desire them, but in an order which he always 



TO THE PACIFIC. 147 

fails to get whenever he tries his hand at imitating 
Nature's planting. The grasses look greener and fresher 
than anywhere else that we have been in the State ; 
and, although we do not see a great variety of flowers, 
we do have the yellow blossoming mustard-plant, cover- 
ing acres in one mass of gold. We see wheat-fields of 
a thousand acres, that is, with no fence between, and 
the only breaks being dead-furrows ; orchards of apple, 
pear, peach, and nectarine, of great extent ; as well as 
plantations of English walnut, almond, cherry, and fig. 
From this valley come as fine strawberries as are pro- 
duced in the State ; and we visited one strawberry-patch 
which contained sixty acres, the vines covering the 
ground almost entirely. Oats, barley, and, to some 
extent, corn, thrive ; and the potato produces large 
tubers, but the quality is not as good as in sections 
farther to the north. The hay made from the wild oats 
and the volunteer crops, that is, grain which grows from 
the droppings from the last planting (they having here 
none of our grasses), is considered very nutritious ; and 
the fields which we visited yielded immense returns. 
One field upon which we went was being cut for the 
second time ; and the farmer said he should obtain one 
more crop before the drought succeeded in killing all 
green things. 

The villages through which we pass have a look of 



148 THE ATLANTIC 

thrift ; and tlie many fine grounds and elegant mansions 
wliicli are seen along the line convince us that here 
'' wealthy Friscans " love to make their homes. Back 
from the railroad, the spires and housetops of the old 
town of Santa Clara appear in view ; and, after a ride 
of three miles, we arrive at the city of San Jose, which 
is located in the very heart of the valley, and just fifty 
miles from San Francisco. 

As is well known, the Spanish had their military post, 
called the Presidio, near the entrance to the bay in 1776, 
which is now within the limits of San Francisco. 
The commander of the post in 1777 resolved to make an 
agricultural settlement near the mission which had 
already been established at Santa Clara some ten 
months, and accordingly, on the 29tli of November of 
that year, made a beginning on the banks of a creek, 
which they had named Gaudaloupe : but. the early set- 
tlers were much annoyed by the floods which overflowed 
the banks of the creek, and destroyed their property ; so 
they moved their town to the north. All that is now 
left of the ancient town is one large storehouse, and the 
Halls of Justice, both built of adobe, and now in a very 
dilapidated condition. In 1797 the town had changed 
its location, and occupied the present site of the city. 
All this was in the time of Charles IV., when all 
that section, of which California is only a part, be- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 149 

longed to the crown of Spain, and was ruled by a gov- 
ernor, who with soldiery kept the Indians in subjection. 
The name given to the new town was El Pueblo de San 
Jose de Gaudaloupe. In 1814 there were only twenty 
dwellings ; and the only foreigner (that is not a Spaniard 
or Indian) was John Gilroy, a Scotchman. In 1831 the 
population was five hundred and twenty-four ; and, as late 
as 1834, there were in all the town only twenty foreign- 
ers. In 1844 arrived the first party of Americans from 
Missouri ; and in 1846 another party of a hundred 
and twenty, commanded by Fremont, reached this valley, 
and came to the city. On the eleventh day of July, 
1846, Capt. Thomas Fallon took possession of the town 
in the name of the United States ; and from this time 
begins its history. It was the first capital of the State ; 
and here the legislatures of 1849 and '50, and 1851 and 
'52, were held. After this the capital was removed to 
Sacramento. The city has now a population of about 
fourteen thousand, and is increasing faster, proportion- 
ally, than most of the cities. Although the loss of the 
capital was a severe blow to the little town, still it grew 
slowly, as the centre ' of a rich farming section. People 
seeking a pretty town to reside in, after they had " dug 
from the earth a fortune," came here ; and soon the 
community was one where existed great individual 
wealtli, — a position which it still retains. 

13* 



150 THE ATLANTIC 

The streets are broad, laid out at riglit angles, and 
mostly well graded. The city is well supplied with 
water ; as in most parts, by sinking an artesian well, the 
water rises several feet above the surface, — a pleasing 
substitute for windmills. The depth of these wells does 
not average more than thirty feet. This gives to San 
Jose peculiar advantages, as water in California is the 
great desideratum during a large part of the year. The 
buildings were very commonplace till within a year or so, 
during whicli time several fine blocks have been erected, 
doing credit to the enterprise of the citizens. The Court 
House is the finest public building (save the Capitol at 
Sacramento) which we have seen in the State. The 
State ISTormal School Building, built of wood, in the 
Corinthian style, is the finest, as well as the largest, 
wooden building in the State. It is to be ready for oc- 
cupancy in about a year ; and when the park around it is 
laid out, and planted, the whole will have a grand and 
imposing effect. The Academy of Notre Dame is 
located here, and, as a school for young ladies, is of great 
celebrity. The Auzerais House is a good hotel, in a 
pleasant location, where a Yankee, by name Churchill, 
will see that you are well cared for, at prices which 
are moderate. 

In the old part of the town, near the Halls of 
Justice, we found the old plaza, wliere the bull- fights 



TO THE PACIFIC. 151 

used to take place ; and scattered tlirougli tlie city are 
many old Spanish families, the members of which look, 
even now, as if tbey would relish "just one more bull- 
fight.'^ There still remain many of the old adobe houses ; 
but, for the most part, the residences of the people are 
not only comfortable, but in many instances elegant. 
The grounds surrounding many of the residences are 
very finely laid out, and tbe planting done with good 
taste and judgment : of all which we saw, those of Gen. 
Negley pleased us most ; and when we were told, that 
nine years before they were witliin a great field, and that 
most of the trees had been only three years planted, we 
were perfectly amazed. But we must bear in mind that 
here the seasons are so much longer, that the trees and 
plants can make much larger growth, which, when com- 
pared with our New-England season, gives probably 
three times the growth in a year; and with many plants 
the proportion would be still greater. 

THE ALAMEDA 

is the road connecting the cities of San Jose and Santa 
Clara. It is about three miles long ; was laid out by the 
monks, who planted upon each side of the way trees (the 
willow, oak, and sycamore), which have now become very 
large, so that, for a large part of the way, their branches 



152 THE ATLANTIC 

interlace above your head, offering a grateful shade. 
Tradition tells us, that the monks used to wallc over 
from Santa Clara, and gather the Indians at San Jose 
around a cross which they had erected there, and tell 
them of God and the Bible : it is also said that the 
work of collecting and planting the trees was done by 
the converted Indians. By the kindness of Major 
George K. Vernon, formerly an officer in the army, but 
who resigned to give his whole attention to his ex- 
tensive farm, we were driven about the city, and over 
the Alameda, rendered historic by the old monks of 
the mission, who wended their way on foot over this 
very ground to carry " good news " to the Indians. I 
care not what was their creed, to them belong honor and 
thanks for the self-sacrificing spirit, which led them to 
the holy work of converting the savages. To this day 
the good they wrought remains ; and through them this 
great section was opened for the advance of civilization. 
Our drive over this famous road prepared us to 
retrace our steps next day, and visit the city and 
mission of 

SANTA CLARA. 

The town is old and dilapidated, without any appear- 
ance of business or even thrift. A horse-railroad con- 
nects the two cities ; and were it not for the college 



TO THE PACIFIC. 153 

buildings, and tlie students who attend, the town would 
seemingly be deserted. There are still remaining 
many old adobe houses, built by the Spaniards and 
Mexicans ; and in one which we visited we found some 
dirty, ignorant Mexicans, unable to speak English, and 
with only the rudest implements for housekeeping ; and 
in a shed adjoining the old house, enveloped in rags and 
filth, lay an old woman ; and in another part of the 
house, in a room without windows or fireplace, was a 
woman and several children. These people are descend- 
ants from the proud Castilian and the native Indian, — 
a deplorable race, and more hated by the few pure-blood 
Spaniards who still survive the misfortunes which have 
overtaken their rule in America, than by the Americans 
themselves. As we roamed about the old town, we dis- 
covered inany evidences of the degeneracy into which 
this race had fallen. Many of the men live in the 
saddle, and get their food and blankets from the occa- 
sional sale of a pony, of which they always have sev- 
eral along with their train. Even the young boys 
show great expertness in the use of the lassoo. 

Having tired of looking about the town, we called 
at the entrance-door of 

SANTA CLARA COLLE-GE, 

and were ushered into a neatly-furnished parlor. With- 



154 THE ATLANTIC 

out waiting long, a priest called, whom we afterwards 
found to be the learned Rev. Prof. A. Cichi, through 
whose untiring efforts this institution has now one of 
the most extensive collections of philosophical apparatus 
in the whole country. He said he was ready to show 
us around the college ; and we visited the several recita- 
tion-rooms, the laboratory, the museums, in all of which 
every " appliance of learning " was to be found. We 
were taken into the dormitories and the dining-halls, 
where the greatest neatness was apparent; into the 
rooms of the debating society, and the great hall fitted 
up with the accessories of the theatre, as well as into 
the various rooms for the teaching of special studies, as 
photography, mining, &c. ; through the beautiful gar- 
dens, where now are growing the fig and olive trees 
planted by the early missionaries, and under whose 
shade the " brothers " were now walking as they re- 
cited to themselves the words of their prayers, and 
willed their thoughts from things temporal to those 
of " the life to come." From the garden, we went into 
the old adobe church, built very narrow, but very 
long, as the early builders knew only how to lay beams 
across from wall to wall, instead of sustaining the roof 
upon a truss. The interior of the church is, of course, 
very rude ; and the old altar is still there, around which 
the "brothers" and their converts have often knelt. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 155 

The old paintings brought from Spain still adorn the 
walls; and some of the painting and coloring upon 
the ceiling is just as it was originally. The sides of the 
buildings have been incased in wood to preserve them ; 
and above the old tile-roof another has been placed to 
keep out the rain. What thoughts arise in one as he 
stands within such a sanctuary ! This churcli is much 
better preserved than the old Mission Dolores in San 
Francisco, which we visited ; for while there much 
that is modern has been introduced, here all is old, 
nothing that is new. The same three bells — a Spanish 
custom — are still rung at morning and evening. 

The mission is very old, older by far than the city : 
but the college was not founded till 1855, by Rev. John 
Noblii ; and since its birth it has been very prosperous, 
being patronized by all denominations, as the studies 
are so arranged, that a Protestant is in no way debarred 
from the privileges of the school. The average number 
of scholars is about two hundred. 

We found Prof. Cichi not only a scholar, but a 
gentleman ; and to him we are indebted for many favors 
in looking over the buildings and grounds of this 
mission. 

As we left the college, just across the street, enclosed 
within a little wooden paling, stands one of the old 
wooden crosses, around which the savages used to con- 



156 THE ATLANTIC 

gregate, and which they in their humble devotions, 
and in token of their recognition of the truths which 
the Jesuits told them, used to kiss. We wended our 
way back to San Jose, filled with thoughts of what 
we had seen. 

THE NEW ALMADEN MINE. 

But, before I close, I must tell you of the famous 
quicksilver mines, which are situated some seven miles 
from town, and known as " the New Almaden Quick- 
silver Mines." 

Although a stage runs to the mines, it is far bet- 
ter to go by private carriage. The road to the mines 
is pleasant, and is lined with the most magnificent 
sycamore-trees which can be imagined, with great 
branches stretching away thirty feet from the trunk, and 
resting themselves upon the ground, and with gnarled 
forms which tell of antiquity. Every one of them is 
a study for an artist, and should be put upon canvas. 
We soon enter a defile in the Santa Cruz Mountains ; and, 
as it narrows, we come within the property of the com- 
pany. Passing the church, the residence of the superin- 
tendent, and the neat cottages of the miners, we drew 
up in front of the hotel, — a long one-story and a half 
stone building, into the rooms of which you pass di- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 157 

rectly from the sidewalk. In front of iis are the offices 
and smelting furnaces of the company, together with 
shops and various buildings required in the production 
of quicksilver from the cinnebar ore. We are now in 
the part of the property called the hacienda. 

As I was familiar with the suit which decided the 
title to this property, knew personally many of those 
who were earl}'- interested in the company, and knew 
many more who still owned stock therein, I felt a great 
desire to look over the property, about which I had read 
and heard so much. 

Passing through the gate, we called at the office, and, 
upon inquiry, were informed that Mr. J. B. Randol, 
the superintendent, was up in the mines, which are 
above on the mountains. Soon he returned ; and we 
found, that although he was leading a life far away from 
friends, and among rough miners, he was still the gen- 
tleman we had always found him to be in New York. 
Giving us every facility for seeing the property, we pro- 
ceeded first to one of the furnaces which was in opera- 
tion. It is built of brick strapped with iron, and has 
five openings along its sides. From a platform above, it 
is charged; that is, the ore called cinnebar (a red-looking 
stone) is packed into the fire-chamber: this is con- 
nected with the other chambers by long pipes, which 
gradually recede from the influence of the heat, and at 

14 



158 THE ATLANTIC 

last find an opening far up the sides of the hills, in a 
chimney, out of which pours the poisonous vapors of 
arsenic. 

The ore is heated ahove 480° Fahrenheit, when the 
quicksilver in it is sublimed, and passes along into the 
chambers and flues, and, as it is separated from the 
other substances, is gradually cooled, until it is precipi- 
tated, and runs from the chambers in little globules into 
a trough, extending along either side of the furnace, 
and which, by its inclination, carries the quicksilver into 
a large receptacle, which looks like an old-fashioned 
set iron hoiler, and from this it is dipped, weighed, 
and poured into the flasks, which are made of cast iron, 
hold fifty-six pounds, and are closed by a thread-cut 
stopper. Having seen this part of the work, we next 
drove, by one of the finest mountain-roads that could be 
made, up to the mines and the villages on the hill. The 
grade is so adjusted, that heavy loads are drawn up the 
mountain-sides, and the ore taken down to the shutes, 
through which it slides to the level of the furnaces. As 
we rode up, we found two villages of miners, — one of 
Mexicans, and one of Welch and Cornwall miners. The 
entrance to the mine was a great dark hole, through 
which you pass, and grope around for several thousand 
feet within the hill. A car brings up the ore ; and under 
a long shed it is cleaned and assorted, and prepared for 



TO THE PACIFIC. 159 

the furnaces. Down about seven hundred feet below 
the old mine, another opening has been made ; and very 
rich ore is now taken out. There is, of course, much 
jS.ne ore which is very rich, but , which is too fine to 
pack : this is mixed with clay, made into adobe bricks; 
and, in this shape, they furnish a good lining for the fur- 
nace, and the quicksilver is saved. 

The houses perched about on the steep mountain- 
sides looked as if they would tumble down from their 
elevated positions ; but still the children playing about 
all looked happy, and the schoolhouse (which the 
company established, and where they maintain a good 
school) showed that they were being taught lessons which 
would be of advantage when they descended from their 
mountain-homes, down among men dwelling in the val- 
leys and on the plains. A well-stocked store supplies 
the miners ; and those whom we saw at work, and going 
to take their turn in the mines, were a hardy set of 
fellows. The whole property told of present good man- 
agement ; and I could see no reason why some of the 
dreams of the early owners had not been realized : 
but every such large property is the prey of those who 
work alone for their own interests, unmindful of the 
stockholders, who, as a rule in such companies, are only 
consulted or troubled when a new assessment is to be 
called for. 



160 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

The property owned by the company is large ; its 
landed estate is extensive, its machinery costly ; and it 
would seem that they possessed every appliance for 
making the ore yield large returns in cash to the treas- 
ury to he divided among the holders of the stock. 

We were very much pleased with our visit, and 
instructed in seeing the processes employed, besides 
enjoying a ride which is not often surpassed in beauty 
of scenery and fine trees along the roadway. 

We turned, the next morning, our face again towards 
the city near the Golden Gate ; and at ten o'clock we 
were breakfasting in the grand dining-room of the 
Lick House. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

To the Yo-Semite. — The Routes. — Merced City and the New 
Hotel. — The Ride to Mariposa. — What we saw and heard. — 
White and Hatch's Hotel. — Clark's Ranche. — Capt. John. — 
The Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. — How you reach it, and 
the Size of the Trees. — Fashionable People Travelling. 

As is well known, tlie chief point of interest to be 
visited in California is the 

YO-SEMITE VALLEY. 

"How shall we go?" is the question asked by the 
tourist as soon as he begins to talk of the valley. 
There are agents for the different routes, who, of course, 
decry all save their own. For two weeks we looked over 
the routes, talked with those who almost daily returned ; 
and we will give the result of our labor. The time of 
making the trip is very important ; for, if you desire to 
see the waterfalls in their glory, you must go in flood- 
time, that is, just at the breaking-up of the snows, when 
14* 161 



162 THE ATLANTIC 

every thing seems turned to water : for^ be it remem- 
beredj the waterfalls of the Yo-Semite are made from 
streams swollen by the melting snows, and many of 
them dry up entirely; while all become only a mere 
trickling compared with their volume at flood-time. If 
the waterfalls are a secondary consideration, then it is 
much more easy and pleasant to make the journey 
across the mountains later in the season. 

The Yo-Semite is situated a little south of east from 
San Francisco, and, in a direct course, is distant a hun- 
dred and fifty-five miles ; but to reach the valley we must 
travel at least two hundred and fifty miles. 

The three routes are denominated ^^ Merced and Mari- 
posa," " Coulterville," and "Chinese Camp and Big-oak 
Plat." By the first, we have the great Mariposa Grove 
of Big Trees within some four miles of the line ; by 
the second, the shortest saddle-ride ; and, by the latter, 
we visit the Calaveras Grove. 

Of one fact there can be no doubt ; that is, that you 
should go into the valley on one side, and out of it upon 
the other ; for thus you have new and inspiring scenery 
and grand views while accomplishing a journey, which, 
of necessity, is very hard and tiresome. As we wanted 
to see the "big trees" in the Mariposa Grove, we 
chose to enter the valley by way of Clark's, or the first 
route, and return by the way of Coulterville ; although, 



TO THE PACIFIC. 163 

if time had permitted^ we should have taken the other 
route, and visited the Calaveras Grove upon our way. 

On the afternoon of the 6th of June, we left the city 
for our journey, taking along with us only such luggage 
as seemed necessary, and arranging our dress " to rough 
it." The train leaves the city at four, p.m., and reaches 
Lathrop, on the line to Sacramento, at about half-past 
eight, where we change cars, and start up the San 
Joaquin Valley to Merced City, which lies some fifty 
miles away. After a slow and tedious ride, we reached 
the unfinished city and the unfinished hotel, named 
"El Capitan." The genial landlord — Bloss byname 
— gave us the very best accommodations that he could, 
under the circumstances, even sleeping-cars being 
drawn up on the side-track to accommodate the guests ; 
and we could only say, " Good-night ! " and " turn in." 
Our unfurnished room, and the excessively hot, oppres- 
sive atmosphere, were not very inviting surroundings for 
our first night on our way ; but we resolved not to com- 
plain of any reasonable hardship, leaving that to the 
young city belles, of whom you always meet more than 
a complement for comfort upon such expeditions. 

The morning found us early looking about the city. 
Four months ago, there was not a house in sight from 
the spot where now is the hotel. Tliis great house was 
erected by the Central Pacific Eailroad Company to ac- 



164 THE ATLANTIC 

commodate the travel to the Yo-Semite. It is four stories 
high, a hundred and fifteen by forty feet, with two wings 
and broad piazzas, and to be furnished with all modern 
improvements. It will cost rising seventy-five thousand 
dollars ; and Mr. Bloss will add the furniture at an ex- 
pense to him of some forty thousand dollars more. The 
railroad offices are all in the building ; and, so far as the 
work has progressed, it is very creditable to the enter- 
prise of its projectors. Merced City is made up of three 
large livery-stables, a dozen saloons, and any number of 
unoccupied city lots. It is the centre of many mining 
villages, as Mariposa, Bear Valley, Hopeton, and many 
others, to nearly all of which daily lines of stages start, 
and from which they arrive, which, together with the 
many carriages which depart for and arrive from the 
Yo-Semite, make lively times at morning and evening 
about the hotel. If Mr. Bloss could do as well as he 
did under the circumstances, we are sure, that, by this 
time, he is able to entertain guests in a manner leaving 
little to be desired. 

There are in the city about three hundred people ; 
and one good citizen who had taken up his residence 
here persisted in telling us of this " pup of city," and 
assured us, that, when it got grown, it would astonish us 
with its " barking and growling.'' 

We should strongly advise tourists to arrange for a 



TO THE PACIFIC. 165 

private conveyance from here ; for the stages are often 
overcrowded, go by longer roads to leave the mail, and 
are not so comfortable in any respect. 

At the appointed time, seven o'clock, we were off 
for the foot-hills, which in the distance bounded the 
great valley of the San Joaquin on the east. 

For about twenty miles, we drive through vast fields 
of wheat and barley, covering the earth on either side 
as far as the eye reaches, only relieved here and there 
by the cabin of the rancher, or a little growth of timber 
along the banks of some creek. The grain, which is 
now ripened, or nearly so, looks fine ; and the fields which 
have been " headed " are yielding immense crops, — by 
far greater than any previous year in this valley. 

Beyond these grain-fields we strike into the gravelly 
country which lies at the entrance to the foot-hills, — vast 
rolling fields, which Kature has made the home of the 
sheep and goat ; and now these great pastures are well 
stocked with these wool-producing animals. This region 
gives us a good idea of the foot-hills of the Sierra 
Nevadas. 

During our ride, our "knight of the whip" has 
grown familiar, aided, no doubt, by the contents of a 
small bottle which he occasionally takes from his pocket, 
and, with his teeth drawing the cork, manages to 
keep his team in motion, and at tlie same time empty 



166 THE ATLANTIC 

some of the liquid into liis mouth. He told his history, 
— his life upon the "box/' and the ups and dowijs 
which had checkered his career. Of the people who 
lived at the ranches he told us, some of the stories being 
" too big ; " but, as we were in the land of big things, no 
wonder a stage-driver's yarns (never lacking in wonders) 
should here partake of the general character of im- 
mense size. He with grave face informed us that the 
region througli which we were passing was exceedingly 
healthy. " Die ! " said he. " No one out here would ever 
die, if it wasn't for whiskey and doctors." He, not liking 
the last mode, had evidently adopted the first-mentioned 
course to end his days within the time appointed for 
mortals. 

But now we are well in among the hills ; and our 
attention is attracted by the great ledges of sandstone 
which project from the surface, and often rise in the 
form of spires or domes, or in fantastic shapes, giving to 
the landscape peculiar beauty. This change is very 
agreeable ; for the fields of ripening grain become very 
tiresome to the eye, as do the great sheep-pastures, 
relieved only by the moving herds. There is another 
rock-formation which is worthy of note. The strata of 
slate stand at almost right angles to the underlying 
sandstone, and crop out of tlie ground in shape like 
grave-stones, covering the sides of the hills with a 



TO THE PACIFIC. 167 

seeming ^^ city of the dead." The rock-croppings above 
the surface are called " buttes ; " and they add also the 
color of the rock, — as red buttes, white buttes, &c. 
Some trees, Pinus Sabiniana, are seen, and acres of the 
chaparral. 

Our first stop was at Indian Gulch, a mining-camp, 
once quite a settlement ; but, as gold has become scarce, 
it has dwindled down to a little, dilapidated village of a 
few Italians and a few negroes. 

A mile or so beyond this village, we enter the great 
Mariposa Estate, owned by a company bearing that 
name; ai.d whose stock, by its fluctuations, has ruined 
more men, and has especially been the cause of the fall 
of more bank-officers, than any other in the long list of 
those "doubtful commodities" which they sell to the 
bulls and the bears who frequent Wall and other streets. 

We take our course over the road through the estate, 
and are very much interested in seeing the Chinamen 
mining in the gulches. Stopping at one of the gulches, 
we got out of the stage to observe the operation. They 
erect a little sluiceway (as I before described) ; and into 
this they shovel the dirt, and wash away the coarser por- 
tion : that which is left is then put into a " pan," as they 
call it, which is filled with water ; and, by a peculiar twist- 
ing of it, the contents are made to revolve, and gradaully 
the specific gravity of the gold causes it to settle to the 



168 THE ATLANTIC 

bottom, and the refuse dirt to go over the side of the 
pan. Here we also saw the " rocker," one of the uten- 
sils used in mining, which has never been improved 
upon, and is to-day just as it was in the early days of 
California placer-mining. It takes the place of a sluice, 
and is more economical in the use of water. The chief 
mining on the Mariposa Estate is, however, quartz ; but 
now all the stamp-mills are still. 

But just a little way on, our driver says, " Don't you 
see those grave-stones ? " — " Yes,'* we said. " W-a-a-1, 
now I tell you, you can always know you are coming to 
a town when you see them things: they always stand 
up first to let you know they have got a graveyard. I 
have seen the same thing East ; and I tell you I have 
known 'um out here, when they laid out a new town, to 
kill a man to start a graveyard ; for you see, here nobody 
dies of his own accord." 

But, before we had really digested the " graveyard 
story," we entered the old town of Mariposa, — once a 
thriving city, now a crumbling, ruined place. All the 
people of standing have left here ; and only a few shop 
and saloon keepers, and a large number of miners, and, 
I was told, some desperadoes, remain here. It is a sad 
story which the city tells of hopes blasted, of fortunes 
lost, and of glory forever gone. 

A stay of an hour, and we were oif again, in a moun- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 169 

tain wagon drawn by two horses^ for White and Hatch's, 
where we were to stay over night. Just as soon as we 
stepped upon the piazza, we were assured of a good sup- 
per and a clean bed ; for the marks of a Yankee house- 
keeper were "hung upon the outer walls/' We were 
not long in finding out that these people came here from 
Maine, erected a saw-mill, and went into the lumber 
business, some twelve years ago. They entertained a 
few travellers at first ; but, the tourists to the mountains 
increasing, they were forced to enlarge their little house ; 
and, by successive additions, they have now quite a "tav- 
ern," where you are so kindly received by Mrs. Hatch, 
who spreads for you such a table of good things that 
Yankees are satisfied ; and, when they are pleased, who 
in the world is left to find fault ? 

A refreshing sleep prepared us for an early start ; and 
b}'' a delightful drive among the hills, under the shade 
of huge pines, we are taken to Clark's. The road leaves 
White's and Hatch's at an elevation of three thousand 
feet, and ascends Chowchilla Creek, and crosses the di- 
vide at an elevation of fifty-eiglit hundred feet, between 
the waters of this creek and the Merced. When we reach 
Clark's, we are at an elevation of forty-one hundred feet, 
and on the banks of the South Merced River, which, 
with swift current, fiows by near the house. The river 
is now at fiood, some seventy-five to eiglitj feet wide, 

15 



170 THE ATLANTIC 

clear as crystal, and by its rocky bed is tossed in foam 
as it speeds along to join the north fork in the Yo- 
Semite Valley. 

Mr. Galen Clark, from whom this ranch is named, 
and who now lives to enjoy the fruits of his labor, is one 
of the pioneers of the section, who came into the country 
as early as 1853, and in 1855 settled here. ' His first 
tavern was a tent, the ground his table, and tin plates 
served for China ; and at night the camp-fire was lighted, 
and around it they wrapped themselves in blankets, and 
slept. In a year or two he built a log-cabin, had three- 
legged stools and a pine table, with a tent for a dormi- 
tory, which in those days were luxuries indeed. The 
increase of travel forced him to erect larger and more 
substantial buildings ; and to-day they have good accom- 
modations. Mr. Clark, in his early days, was a great 
hunter, and is still a dead-shot with his rifle. He is 
plain in his habits, a lover of nature, and preserves the 
custom of nightly lighting the camp-fire, and gather- 
ing his friends about it to talk over " the days that are 
gone." In 1870 Mr. Edwin Moore came to the ranch, 
and entered into a co-partnership with Mr. Clark, and 
now has general management of the business ; and the 
hearty hospitality which he and the ladies of the house 
dispense make all feel at home. 

During the afternoon of the day of our arrival, there 



TO THE PACIFIC. 171 

came galloping into the yard an old Indian, with a 
white silk handkerchief about his head, pantaloons of 
great size and white in color, a flannel blouse, and a striped 
shirt. His horse was a mustang, and upon his back 
rested a real Mexican saddle. Dismounting, he walked 
with the gait of age directly to the piazza where we 
were sitting, and greeted Mr. Clark with the utmost 
cordiality. Mr. Clark addressed him as Capt. John. 
After a little conversation in his broken English and 
Spanish, Mr. Clark told us that he was a chief of the 
once-powerful tribe of Indians called "Fresno," was on 
his way for a visit across the mountains, and over to 
Mono Lake. After much difficulty, he was made to 
understand that we lived about three thousand miles 
away, and " on the other ocean ; " and, with a face full of 
animation, the old man said, "Whew ! too muchy far, old 
Injun." No, indeed : neither he nor any of his tribe will 
ever see that other ocean of which their soothsayers had 
told them around the council-fires. They are fast passing 
away, and soon they will be numbered with their broth- 
ers of the Atlantic ; while the tribes in the great middle 
ground will survive only a few years longer the calami- 
ties which have overtaken the red men, dwellers by 
either ocean. 

But to Capt. John attaches peculiar interest, as he was 
one of the Indians who Gjuided the first white men into the 



172 THE ATLANTIC 

valley. The Indians in 1850 being very troublesome, 
and having a stronghold far up the mountains, a com- 
pany, under command of Capt. Boling, started in pursuit 
of them, and under the guidance of friendly Indians, 
with their chief, Te-na-ya, were taken into the wonder- 
ful valley ; and for the first time white men looked upon 
the grandest scenery which the world to-day knows. 

As long as I staid at Clark's, Capt. John and I were 
good friends ; and he would often exclaim, " I sarva you," 
which means that he could understand me. At night, 
when the Indians of the little settlement near the house 
returned with their trout, and sold them to Mr. Clark, 
reserving only enough for supper, we visited their camp, 
and observed their mode of cooking them. A hole is 
dug in the ground, and a fire made therein ; and, while 
the coals are glowing, they are raked away, the fish put 
in and covered with them, and thus cooked. From the 
meal made from dried acorns, they make a kind of paste, 
which they call bread, and which, from a water-tight bas- 
ket, they eat with their fingers. Capt. John urged us 
so hard to eat with them, that we tried the fish, and found 
them delicious ; but the paste we had to omit. Our 
table was the earth ; our knives and forks were our fin- 
gers ; and we sat in a reclining position on our table, the 
whole lighted up by the fire, which was blazing near by. 
As they ate, they grunted at each other ; their lan- 
guage being a succession of grunts. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 173 

Next day, although Sunday, it was arranged that our 
party should visit the 

MARIPOSA GROVE OF BIG TREES. 

The grove is reached over a trail of some four miles ; 
but the "rounds" to both groups of trees, and return, 
make a horseback ride of a little more than twelve 
miles. Our horses and mules, bridled and saddled, were 
led up by eight o'clock ; and the selecting and assigning 
of animals immediately began. The ladies first were 
mounted for the trip. For me, I preferred a mule, as 
being surer footed, and, looking among them, I selected 
one, not the best-looking, but well built, and with an in- 
telligent eye. Jumping upon his back, he turned his 
queer countenance towards me, and for some minutes 
seemed to consider ^ and then whirled round several times 
to show that gait, and then looked at me again. Coax- 
ing with a willow-twig seemed to let him know best the 
way I desired him to behave ; and after a few minutes he 
yielded, and ever after was " as good a mule as mule 
could be." For ni}^ whole stay in the mountains I kept 
him, called him ^sculapius, treated him kindly, rested 
and fed him ; and, were I to go again in that region, I 
should look for that mule, which T trust will ever bo 

well used. 

15* 



174 THE ATLANTIC 

I noticed one thing, — tliat those who "bragged most of 
their horsemanship made the poorest show when they 
were upon the animals. One jpoor child who talked 
loudly of his experience, and who tried to be very nice, 
came to grief, sprawled in the dirt ; for his mule per- 
sisted in not being led in a city ivay. No one pitied 
him, for he had put away all pity by his course. The la- 
dies also showed the same fact. — that much bragging, 
or even Eastern horsei6'o??^a?^ship, don't always succeed 
in conquering a mustang pony or a mountain mule. 

But, all ready ! and we are off over the trail for 
those wonders in the vegetable world. But, if we had not 
read of those bigger trees, we should have been satisfied 
with those about us ; the hotel standing in a grove of 
trees from six to twelve feet in circumference, and from 
a hundred and twenty-five to a hundred and seventy- 
five feet high, mostly pines. 

The trail is a very pleasant one, being up the side of 
a hill, under the shade of those magnificent great pines 
and spruces which cover the Sierras far up their sides. 
About an hour and a half was occupied in reaching the 
" Upper Grove," as it is called. These groups of big 
trees lie at an elevation of about fifty-five hundred feet 
above sea-level, but still in a little valley, a sort of 
depression in the side of a ridge. 

Congress has made a grant of two miles square, and 



TO THE PACIFIC. 175 

clared it a national park, which, takes in the two distinct 
groves of these trees. The Upper Grove contains just 
three hundred and sixty-five of this species, over one foot 
in diameter ; while in the Lower Grove, which is situ- 
ated to the south-west of the first mentioned, the trees 
are more scattered, and less in number. 

Por a long time, a learned discussion was carried on 
both in France and England as to the name to be given 
this tree ; but now, by consent of all, it is named Sequoia 
gigantea. It is undoubtedly a twin-brother of the red- 
wood (^Sequoia sem.pe7'virens), of which the major part 
of the trees in the great Sierra forests is composed. 

The trees have signs placed upon them, giving each 
a name, as Grant, Lincoln, Lesseps, the Twins, the Sis- 
ters, Pluto's Chimney, &c., but which have not, and 
should not, become popular. Spare the old giants of 
the forest such indignities ! The highest tree in this 
grove is two hundred and seventy-two feet ; the highest 
in the Calaveras Grove is three hundred and twenty- 
five feet ; while the largest known tree in circumference 
in the world is here in the Lower Grove ; and there 
are in all, in the two groups, a hundred and twenty-five 
trees, each over forty feet around. 

The trees which are found intermingled with the big 
trees are the pitch and sugar pine, the Douglas spruce 
and white fir, together with the bastard cedar, which 
nearly resembles the Sequoia. 



176 THE ATLANTIC 

The great tree in the southern portion of the grove is 
the one known as the " Grisly Giant/' which is ninety- 
three feet seven inches in circumference at the ground, 
and, eleven feet above, is sixty-four feet three inches. 
It is at the base rising thirty-one feet in diameter. Its 
branches are as large as our largest elms, many being 
fully six feet in diameter. Desiring to take home with 
me something which would show the size of this tree, 
with the assistance of the two guides, w^e stretched a 
cord around the tree as nearly as we could five feet 
from the ground, making no allowance for the decrease 
in size by the burning on one side ; and this cord (which 
I now have, as w^ell as the measurements of two others) 
measures just ninety-two feet eight inches in length. 
The age of this tree is variously estimated ; but it is safe 
to say (from the data of those which have fallen) that it 
is fifteen hundred years old. Through a fallen trunk, 
which was hollowed by decay and fire, we rode on 
mule-back ; and into another tree, still growing, but 
into whose side the fire had worked, we rode, turned 
our mule around, and rode out again. There was one 
where the fire had made a rent directly through the tree, 
large enough for us to ride through, and it was still 
growing, its top showing no signs of decay. These 
are great vegetable wonders ; and probably no trees ever 
found have created so much comment as these, all tlie 



TO THE PACIFIC. 177 

learned journals of the world having given them full 
descriptions and reviews. 

We lunched amid these great giants of the mountain 
forests, and let our thoughts contemplate the wonders of 
Nature, thankful that we had been privileged to behold 
them, and re-assured that Nature proved the existence 
of a God. 

We returned somewhat tired with our first experience 
in mule-back riding over a mountain trail ; but, never- 
theless, the lighting of the camp-fire found me with the 
ranchers, listening to their stories. Passing the door 
of the parlor later in the evening, a city belle said to 
me, " I should not think you would like to stay with 
those rough men." Surprised at first at the extreme 
ignorance shown by this lady, — only a specimen of tlie 
great majority who make such trips with their "dear 
papas," — I could only tell her that Mr, Clark was a 
gentleman ; that his son was a recent graduate of Yale 
College ; that Mr. Moore was a man of great informa- 
tion ; that I had derived much knowledge from the con- 
versation ; and, by mingling with them, I had learned 
their mode of life. Not satisfied, she again replied, " I 
did not come out here to associate with common people." 
This is the estimate which many place upon a person, — 
his dress. Fashionably-cut clothes go, with fashionahle 
people, farther than brains. If a person can travel 



178 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

through our Great West, and associate as he ought with 
the people, and have any respect iox fashionable preten- 
sions afterwards, I deem him beyond hope ; for here the 
governor of the State dresses in homespun, and the 
sturdy ranchers and men of business forget the color of 
their shirt, if it be only clean. I could not help this 
tirade against fashionable women ; for they gave me 
more annoyance than all else upon my trip, and often 
created ill feelings, and wounded the sensitive natures of 
the few noble women, lovers of nature, who were along 
with the party, or whom we met at the stopping-places. 
To-morrow early we shall start for the valley, leaving 
at seven o'clock ; and, as the trail is nigh thirty miles, 
we shall not reach the valley before sunset. 



CHAPTER XX. 

The Trail from Clark's into the Yo-Semite. — The Mountain 
Peaks. — Inspiration Point. — The Yo-Semite Fall. 

We made an early start from Clark's for our long 
saddle-ride into the valley. There was a large number 
to go ; and every horse and mule was brought into requi- 
sition. By a bridge we cross the South Fork of the 
Merced Biver ; and by a trail^ ascending very rapidly, we 
reach the plateau, which lies between the main river and 
the branch mentioned. A journey of six miles brings 
us to a creek named Alder, along which our trail lies to 
its source in a great mountain-meadow. We have now 
reached an altitude of seventy-one hundred feet above 
the level of the sea, or nearly a thousand feet higher 
than Mt. Washington, or a mile and a half above tide- 
water. To know just what a mountain-trail is you 
must follow one ; but some idea can be had by ima- 
gining the roughest road you ever went over, and by far 
more crooked than any cow-path in the old pastures, 
and then narrow it down to a way just wide enough for 

179 



180 THE ATLANTIC 

one animal to pass, and then set this path at an inclina- 
tion little less than perpendicular, and then across it 
throw occasionally a snow-drift ten feet deep, and you 
can know something of the trail whicli we are going 
over to-day (June 10). Up here in the mountains it is 
early spring ; the snows are melting ; the streams are 
swollen; and, in the spots where the snows are gone, the 
grass is just springing up. There must have been an 
immense quantity of snow here ; for the drifts of snow, 
packed hard enough for us to pass over the crust, are 
from six to ten feet in depth ; and the ground in the 
shadow of rocks and trees is still " clothed in the white." 
A trail is peculiar : it follows the path first struck out, 
even though farther, and takes great pains to go a long 
way around a fallen tree or a rock, when the labor of a 
few hours would open a new path ; but still there is 
something fascinating in following the windings of our 
narrow road. 

The character of the trees has changed ; and now we 
have those which delight in these elevated places, as 
Pinus contorta, Picea grandis, Picea amahilis : of these 
the forests of the high Sierras are formed. The early 
flowers, too, are blossoming, and opening their bright eyes 
to the sun ; but it is too early in the season for the floral 
beauties which later cover the ground, ^nd make you for- 
get the frosts and the snows. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 181 

By one o'clock we reached a place called " Mountain 
View Meadow/' — a great basin, as it were, in the moun- 
tains, whose lofty peaks rise on every side, covered with 
snow. We are now in the high Sierras, and are brought 
face to face with the grandest mountain-range on the 
continent. 

We lunch at the Mountain View House, a pretentious 
name for a log-cabin and one small frame house, with 
partitions made of cotton cloth. The property is owned 
by one Peragoy, who came from Baltimore to the Mari- 
I)osa country to dig gold. Stock-raising takes him into 
this meadow during each summer ; and Mrs. Peragoy 
takes charge of lunching travellers to and from the val- 
ley, and, that she does it well, the many praises from the 
company told full well. To her the mountains have no 
charm, the great meadow in which she lives no beauty ; 
but a well-set and ^^eZZ-loaded table, with tuell-'psiymg 
guests around it, who call loudly for extras, is to her 
the grandest sight upon which her eyes can rest. 

From Peragoy's the trails diverge ; one entering the 
valley by Inspiration, and the other by Glacier Point. 
The country between is rolling; now rising in sharp 
ridges, and now settling back into a pretty meadow, 
where the grass is springing up, offering abundant food 
for cattle during the few weeks that they are free from 
snows. In crossing these meadows, now filled with sur- 

16 



182 THE ATLANTIC 

face water, often our mule would mire to his knees ; and, 
in his efforts to get out, the mud would fly at a great 
rate, or, in crossing a creek which seemed shallow, down 
he would sink, and our feet would find water, to our dis- 
comfort. The highest point which we reach upon the 
trail is seven thousand four hundred feet above the sea ; 
and at this altitude, of course, it is impossible to walk or 
run at any speed ; and, until one has become accustomed 
to it, care should be taken not to exert one's self, as evil 
results often follow. 

But we are now catching glimpses of the huge walls 
and towering peaks which rise upon the farther side of 
the valley ; and a mile or so takes us to that famed spot, 

INSPIRATION POINT. 

Here we get our first view of a portion of the valley. 
Dismounting, we walk out upon the jutting rocks ; and 
then opens to our view the enchanting, awe-inspiring 
scene. The sun is just sinking behind the huge granite 
hills which rise in the west : in front of us, seemingly 
but a little way off, but really more than a mile, the 
Bridal Veil throws its white, flowing robes over the face 
of Po-ho-no, and, falling six hundred and thirty feet 
from the top of the rock to the river, breaks into a 
great cloud of spray. We are far above this fall. On 



TO THE PACIFIC. 183 

our left rises the huge form of El Capitau, almost per- 
pendicularly, thirty-three hundred feet ahove the level 
of the valley. This rock the Indians called Tu-tock-a- 
mu-la, or the great chief of the valley. Away in the 
distance, where the valley seems to close up, we see the 
North and South Dome, the latter of which rises nearly 
five thousand feet above the valley; while away up 
among the very clouds we see the great peaks called 
Lyell and King, and Cloud's E-est, and many more, but 
which, from this point, appear like one great mountain, 
up the sides of which you can climb into and above the 
clouds, up to those shining orbs, the stars. Below us, a 
small part of the valley level appears, dotted over with 
great trees, and through which a river flows, its waters 
sparkling in the sun. 

To attempt to describe the grandeur of this scene 
would be folly ; to tell of the feelings of awe, of hu- 
mility, of reverence, which are here aroused, is all that 
can be done. He who tries to believe there is no God 
is here at once converted in the twinkling of an eye ; 
and his feelings of reverence and veneration, blended 
with love and beauty, force him to a worship at once 
pure and creedless. 

Enraptured by the scene, we all lingered long after 
our guides told us that darkness would come on before 
we reached the hotel. But, before we start down the 



184 THE ATLANTIC 

precipitous side of this mountain, let us give a general 
idea of this wonderful valley. 

The valley is about six miles long by from half a mile 
to a mile and a half in width ; its area is nearly level ; 
and its sides rise almost perpendicularly from the sur- 
face ; the rock being solid granite of the finest grain. 
It is sunken almost a mile below the general level of the 
mountain region just around it ; and the general direc- 
tion of this depression is north-east by east, until near 
its upper end, where it makes a sharp turn, and divides 
into three canons, up through which wild gorges we 
can climb to the higher Sierras beyond. 

Prof. Whitney, State geologist of California, calls the 
valley "a gigantic trough," and sums lip its charac- 
teristics as follows : " The principal features of the Yo- 
Semite, and those by which it is distinguished from all 
known valleys, are, first, the near approach to verti- 
cality of its walls ; second, their great height, not only 
absolutely, but as compared with the width of the 
valley itself; and, finally, the very small amount of 
talus, or dehins, at the base of these gigantic cliffs." 

We will start down the trail ; and we must make 
a steep climb of twenty-nine hundred and seventy- 
feet before reaching the bottom of the valley. At each 
step of the way, we have new and inspiring views pre- 
sented to us. A little way down, we have the spot 



TO THE PACIFIC. 185 

where Bierstadt made his sketches for his great picture, 
and a little off the trail, where Hill found the view 
which to him seemed grandest, and which he has 
transferred to canvas not only in outline, but in spirit. 
As we approach nearer El Capitan, we are impressed 
with its massiveness ; and, as it stands out into the 
valley, it seems to present a sharp edge of granite, but 
really very wide. 

At points, the trail is very steep, and, of course, some 
care must be taken to avoid accident; for although 
guides say there is no danger, still a misstep of your 
animal would surely cause serious trouble. 

On our right is the Bridal Veil Falls, which now we 
begin to look up to, instead of down upon it, as we 
did at Inspiration Point. On our left we have a fall 
called Virgin's Tear, a little more than a thousand feet 
high ; but this fall dries up as the season advances. 
We pass in our journey Cathedral Eock, twenty-six 
hundred and sixty feet high ; the Spires, which are dis- 
tinct granite columns, which rise, just as their names 
indicate, some five hundred feet, and, as the sun brings 
out their lines and forms, they are of rare beauty. On 
the other side are those rocks, rising one over and above 
the other, called by the Indians Pom-pom-pa-sus, or 
"Leaping Frog Kocks," from their resemblance to three 
frogs, but which are named in the survey " The Three 

16* 



186 THE ATLANTIC 

Brothers," tlie highest of which rises thirty-eight 
hundred and thirty feet high. As we approached the 
Bridal Veil, its beauty seemed increased ; and as the 
wind swayed its mass of foaming spray, losing itself 
among the tall trees which grow at its base, it seemed 
like the flowing of a long white veil. There seemed 
to be a dozen streams running from this fall into the 
Merced ; and, as we forded some of them, our feet 
dragged through the water, it was so deep. Leaving 
the rest of the party, some of us rode up among the 
trees, and got quite near the base of the fall, at least 
where the spray came over us like a shower of rain. It 
was a weird spot just as darkness came on ; and the 
sound of the wind striking the column of water made 
it all the more awful. The Indians as they came here 
gave to the fall tbe name of "The Spirit of the Night 
Wind," in their language Po-ho-no. 

A mile brought us to the first hotel, Leidig's; and a 
little farther on we came to Black's, where we had de- 
termined to stay. The roar of the great Yo-Semite fall 
was heard ; and in the moonlight we could see the 
spray. To the back of the hotel the great tower-like 
rock rises, which is called " The Sentinel Rock ; " and 
the house where we are has the name, "New Sentinel 
Hotel." 

Too tired to eat, and with mind crowded full of the 



TO THE PACIFIC. 187 

incidents of the day, we soon retired, to be lulled to 
sleep by the roar of the " Great Grisly Bear/' as the 
Indians called the great waterfall just on the opposite 
side of the valley. 

Before the sun rose, we were out watching for its first 
beams in the valley ; and we were amply repaid for our 
early start. In the valley it was quite dark : but the 
spires and pinnacles of the surrounding mountains 
were gilded with the morning sun ; and, as he rose 
higher, his beams glided over the rocks, and gradually 
slid down their sides, bringing out in bold relief their 
forms marked and scarred by time, until at last his full 
rays burst in glory upon the whole valley, causing 
rocks and trees and waterfalls to shine and sparkle in 
his beams. Nothing could be more beautiful ; and 
those who persisted in remaining in bed till the break- 
fast-bell rang lost one of the most beautiful views of 
Nature which I enjoyed in the valley. 

In the early morning, or just at sunset, we have the 
best view of the 

YO-SEMITE FALL, 

This is probably the greatest attraction in all the 
valley, and in height (two thousand six hundred and 
thirty-four feet) surpasses all other known waterfalls in 
the world with like volume of water. It is formed by 



188 THE ATLANTIC 

a creek of the same name, which heads ten miles away, 
in Mount Hoffman, and is fed by melting snows. It 
has its bed in solid granite, and, where it pours over the 
rock, is from twenty to forty feet in width, and from 
two to three feet in depth, with a current of a mile an 
hour. Where it pours over, the granite is polished 
so smooth, that it is dangerous to step upon it. The 
fall is divided into three parts ; the first, a vertical 
descent of fifteen hundred feet, where it strikes upon 
a shelf, which makes back nearly two thousand feet 
from the front of the lower cliff; and, by a series of 
cascades, it finds its way down (the descent being, in a 
perpendicular, six hundred and twenty-six feet) to the 
edge of the cliff, where it makes a final plunge upon a 
pile of debris, and by rivulets is carried into the Mer- 
ced. The volume of water is too great to be broken by 
the fall; and the wind has such an effect upon it, that 
it sways the foaming mass, which widens out, before it 
reaches the shelf, to some three hundred feet at flood- 
time. As it tumbles from the cliff, it falls in rocket- 
like masses, and seems to whirl ; by which air is collected 
within the mass, and, falling upon the flattened shelf 
of granite, causes a sound like the report of a cannon. 
The view of this fall varies very much in different 
positions : in some, it appears like one continuous fall 
without break ; in another, the cascades appear between 



TO THE PACIFIC. 189 

the two perpendicular falls ; and from any point, 
whether near, or across the valley (here more than a 
mile in width), the sight is grand and imposing, and 
far more enchanting than Niagara. 

By this time our breakfast was ready, and we were 
ready, also, to do it justice after our tramp. Our animals 
are brought up ; and as the name, Mirror Lake, is so 
bewitching, it was voted to go there : and so we are oif. 
The trail brings us soon to the centre of business, — 
Hutchings's Hotel (kept by Hutchings, who lectured in 
in the east last winter), Smith's Cosmopolitan Saloon, 
a store, the photographic gallery of Hazeltine, the 
telegraph-office, and the new dormitory erected by Mr. 
Hutchings. These structures are somewhat rude ; and 
all elaboration is omitted, as all the material of which 
they are built, and with which they are furnished, was 
brought over upon pack-mules. Near Hutchings's we 
cross the Merced upon a bridge which ought to span the 
river; but the water is so high, that, when we get at the 
end of the bridge, we are only across the main channel, 
and our animals go leg-deep in the water across a great 
meadow. Soon the valley narrows between towering 
mountains. On the left we have the Koyal Arches, 
Washington Column, and that great dome-shaped mass 
of granite rock, called the North Dome. At this point 
the valley divides into three canons, — Tenaya, through 



190 THE ATLANTIC 

wliich a branch of the Merced of that name flows ; the 
Nevada, or middle one, through which the main Merced 
flows ; and the right hand, or that to the south-west, the 
lUilouette, through which the South Fork flows. 

A little way up the Tenaya, we come to a great mass 
of broken granite rock, evidently the moraine of a 
glacier; and, climbing over this, we find that it has 
dammed up some of the waters of the river ; and this 
they call '^Mirror Lake." At the proper time of the 
day, the reflections in the water are undoubtedly fine ; 
but to call it a lake is a misnomer, and the great num- 
ber of mosquitoes make it very uncomfortable staying 
around in tliose parts. Mirror Lake is a humbug, 
and don't pa}'- for the time and trouble of getting to it. 
So it is with every thing. An attractive name will take 
with the many, who leave spots of rare beauty unnoticed, 
because no one has given them heaiitiful names. 

On our way we visited a ranchero of Merced Indians, 
and had a chance to see the squaws pounding acorns 
into meal, and some of the men, who, like other lords 
of the earth, deem it a disgrace to work, but are willing 
to be suf)ported by others. 

In the afternoon we strolled about by ourselves, and 
found more satisfaction and comfort. AVe met Joaquin 
Miller, the poet of the Sierras, who has the credit of 
first making Englishmen acquainted with the grand 



TO THE PACIFIC. 191 

mountains, the fruitful plains, and the lovely valleys, of 
California. Many Eastern people, too, were stopping in 
the valley at the three hotels. We also visited the 
justly celebrated saloon of Mr. John Smith ; and it is 
a worthy example of pluck. 

It stands in salient contrast with all the other accom- 
modations in this valley. Mr. Smith first visited the 
valley some three years ago, and, with a far-sightedness 
which always compels success, perceived the future to 
which the Yo-Semite was destined, and resolved to 
anticipate its needs. To understand fully the magni- 
tude of tlio undertaking, it must be borne in mind that 
every tiling for building (save the roughest lumber), all 
supplies of every kind, must be packed into the valley 
upon mules, over a mountain-trail of ten miles at the 
very least. But Smith was a man who, the more 
difficulties, the more the energy he summoned to his 
aid. To resolve with him was to act : so up went the 
building, over came furniture, supplies, even city luxu- 
ries, into a valley where before only the rudest con- 
veniences were known. 

Late in the evening we again reached our hotel, 
satisfied with one day's full enjoyment. 

And I will close this chapter by adding a story which 
has credence in the valley. 

Along came a tall, gaunt-looking Yankee chap, and 



192 THE ATLANTIC 

offered his services to the proprietor of the mule-trains 
as guide. Although he had never been in the valley, 
he assured them that his experience in the mountains 
would enable him to follow the trail, and his study of 
the map of the Yo-Semite would make him familiar 
with the points of interest. Pete, for that is his 
name, talked so plausibly, that at length a bargain was 
struck ; and he started off with a party. Good judg- 
ment took them safely into the valley ; and Pete had a 
ready answer to all questions. Coming to those three 
great rocks which I have described as looking like three 
frogs, some of the party inquired their name. 

" Them are the Missouri Sisters," said Pete with an 
air of confidence ; " and ain't them handsome ones ?" 

The party reached Hutchings's all right 5 and, after 
tea, Mr. Hutchings proposed a walk, and Pete accom- 
panied them. 

Mr. Hutchings was discoursing upon the beauties of 
the grand scenery, when presently his eye caught these 
three huge rocks, and, calling the attention of the per- 
sons to them said, " Those three huge rocks which lie 
one upon another, we call the ' Three Brothers.' " One 
of the party in amazement looked up, and cried, " Why, 
Pete, you told us they were the ^ Missouri Sisters." " 
Pete, ever ready, answered, "Hang it! no one can keep 
track of Hutchings's names ; for he changes them every 
week." 



TO THE PACIFIC. 193 

And these popular iiames do change, and often have 

no significance at all. How much better it would have 

been to have preserved the old Indian names which had 

been handed down from generation to generation, and 

each of which had some appropriateness ! And even the 

word " Yo-Semite/' which is retained, is Anglicized ; for 

the Indian pronounces it ^^ Ho-ham-e-ta,^^ and it signifies 

the most awful thing to him, — a great grizzly bear. 
17 



CHAPTER XXL 

Nevada Canon. — Vernal and Nevada Falls. — The Flowers, Shrubs, 
and Trees of the Valley. — The Trail up to Gentry's. — Crane 
Flat and South Tuolumne Grove of Big Trees. — The Stage- 
Ride back through Coulterville to Merced. 

We again rose early, and enjoyed a tramp among the 
grand old trees to the foot of some of those towering 
rocks. Their great height is best appreciated by 
climbing up upon the debris to their face, and then 
looking up towards the blue sky. Long before the 
party (for you have to go in troupes, under the charge of 
guides) was ready, I was upon that mule, ^sculapius, 
and was off to see the reflections in the river. The ex- 
treme clearness of the water, its absolute quiet as it 
spreads out over the meadows, together with the great 
clearness of the atmosphere, give to these reflections 
peculiar beauty and character. The fine photographs 
made by Watkins of San Francisco reproduce these 
effects in great truthfulness. 

194 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 195 

"When the rest of the party came up; we had wandered 
some distance up the trail which takes us to 

VERNAi;. AND NEVADA FALLS; 

which are among the most pleasing of all the waterfalls. 
We leave the valley proper at the point where the 
three canons begin. Our way lies up the middle one, 
wliere flows the main river. The Merced, in coming 
from the high mountain-plateau above, down into the 
Yo-Semite, makes a descent of more than two thousand 
feet in two miles ; and, besides the roaring cascades, we 
have the two falls mentioned. We follow up the river, 
and, after a ride of a mile or more, cross the Illilou- 
ette, which is quite a stream. Here we go over an im- 
mense deposit of huge angular granite blocks, which, 
undoubtedly, have been torn from the mountains by 
some great ice-floe. The trail rises very rapidly, and 
follows the tearing and surging river, which you per- 
ceive, from the inclination of its bed, must flow at a fear- 
ful rate. We soon arrived at the first fall, which has 
received the popular name of Vernal, but which the 
Indians called Pl-unj-ach, or Sparkling Water, — a 
name which has some appropriateness. The height of 
the fall is four hundred feet, as nearly as can be meas- 
ured ; for the great body of water which flows over this 



196 THE ATLANTIC 

squarely-cut " step/' as it were in the canon, is broken 
into spray, which rises nearly half as high as the fall. 
As the sun shines upon this fall, beautiful rainbows are 
produced, which give to the whole scene exquisite 
beauty. One loves to linger about this spot, climbing 
up the rocks within the spray which is thrown by the 
fall on every side. 

Around the falls, where the moisture covers the rocks, 
cryptogamous plants thrive; and here a collection of 
mosses could be made, which would be very valuable in 
this class of plants. 

Por a little more than two miles, by a very steep trail, 
along a sharp ridge, we make our way up to Nevada 
Fall. This is a grand sight, the volume of water being 
very large ; and by a projecting rock, just at the edge of 
the lip of the fall, a whirling motion is given to the 
central volume of water ; and, as it falls upon talus or 
debris at the foot, the spray is thrown in all directions 
upon and among the great trees vdiich grow near the 
foot of the fall. This fall is six hundred feet high ; and 
the river between the falls descends three hundred feet. 

To our left rises a huge mass of rock, which stands 
alone in its grandeur. It is about two thousand feet 
high, and has several names, but that generally adopted 
is ^^ Cap of Liberty." Two days before we visited the 
spot, a large slide took place, which levelled great trees, 



TO THE PACIFIC. 197 

filled up gorges, and, for many rods around, filled the air 
with flying stones ; and to-day we have every thing 
covered with granite-dust. Those who chanced to be 
here at the time described the scene as grand, yet pro- 
ducing extreme fear ; for the very rock where they were 
shook under their feet. 

We have visited no more picturesque spots than those 
which we have found in Nevada canon. 

The little house where we lunch is kept by Albert 
Snow and his wife. As w^e approached the house, some 
one asked Mr. Snow if he knew where " Drew " was ; 
and he replied with the utmost deliberation, "I'll be 
darned if I know ! " and in a tone which only comes 
from Old Vermont. And so it was. Snow is a 
Yankee, and his wife is Yankee too • and between them 
they succeed in making all people happy. Although 
there were more than a hundred at the little inn, Mrs. 
Snow gave all enough ; and those baked beans — 
" when shall I see the like again ? "- 

Grace Greenwood (Mrs. Lippincott) was here, and 
many people from the East ; and all seemed to drink in 
the beauties and sublimity of the scenes about them. 

Whoever visits the valley should find and become 
acquainted with John Muir, the scholar and enthusiast, 
who has seen more of the valley and adjacent country 

than any other white man. Visiting the valley about 

17* 



198 THE ATLANTIC 

four years ago, he became so much impressed with its 
grandeur and sublimity, that he returned home, closed up 
his business, and took up his permanent residence here ; 
and for three years, now, he has "been reading this great 
book of nature," as he says ; and he has well succeeded. 
Our evenings we spent in his little cabin; and one night 
the clock struck three in the morning before we ended 
what to me was a most instructive discussion. 

The theory of the formation of the valley advanced 
by Whitney never did satisfy me ; and, the more I ob- 
served, the more doubts arose ; and from Mr. Muir facts 
enough were obtained to believe with Agassiz, that all 
such deep ploughed gorges have been made by immense 
ice-floes. It seems strange that so few of our scientific 
men have visited the valley, and made a thorough exam- 
ination ; for, so far, only superficial glances have been 
made, and crude theories are the result. 

Another person must be seen, Mr. John Lamon, who 
was the first white man to take up a permanent resi- 
dence in the valley. He came into the valley and 
selected a few acres as early as 1860 ; and, for a number 
of years, he has passed the entire year in the Yo-Semite. 
He has set out and cultivated a fine orchard of apple- 
trees, has a strawberry-patch, and raises some vegetables. 
He is an intelligent man. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 199 

The first house built in the valley was in 1856, and 
is still standing, and forms a part of Black's Hotel. 

Mr. J. M. Hutcliings first visited the valley in 1855 ; 
has lived in the valley since 1858 ; during the summer 
keeps his hotel, and seems bound to make money. 

As is well known, Congress ceded this valley, and the 
territory back from the line of the rocks (one mile all 
around), to the State of California, to be forever pre- 
served as a park. Commissioners were appointed, who 
began their work : but nothing has ever been done, as 
through the efforts, principally of Mr. Hutchings, all 
their plans have been thwarted ; and he is continually 
urging the legislature and Congress to recognize his 
private claims, and give him in fee a hundred and sixty 
acres of that which God has intended for a nation's 
park. Remissness on the part of some one exists ; for 
there should be a good carriage-road, at least, into the 
valley ; good hotel accommodations should be had ; and 
the price to be paid should be regulated. The State 
should move in the matter ; and to this the great rail- 
roads which take tourists to the region should give their 
attention, that many of the inconveniences which now 
attend a journey to the valley may be removed. 

There is a new trail opened this year up to Glacier 
Point, from which position a more extended view is 
obtained of the valley than from any point now acces- 



200 THE ATLANTIC 

sible with any reasonable exertion. Year by year new 
paths will be made ; and it is an impossibility to go upon 
any trail, or upon any of the mountains, without finding 
new views, and each with its own elements of beauty. 

We were disappointed in not being able to reach 
Cloud's Rest and the higher Sierras, but the snows 
prevented ; and those who had attempted the ascents 
were of opinion that another week would pass before 
the snows would be packed hard enough to allow a pas- 
sage over the crusts. It must be borne in mind, that, as 
the summer's sun rises over these mountains covered 
with snow, it warms the whole mass, the least frozen 
portion is turned into water, and the icy part is brought 
together in a mass so firmly packed, that it will sustain 
the weight of a mule and its rider. In this way, dur- 
ing late July and August, they go over beds of snow 
from ten to twenty feet in depth, and often even deeper, 
in both the Sierra Nevadas and the Rocky Mountains. 

During our stay in the valley, we were every hour 
filled with the grandeur of the scenery ; and we could 
only regret when at last the morning came for our de- 
parture ; and we promised ourselves, that, should life 
and health permit, we would again visit this enchanting 
spot, and satiate ourselves with its glories. 

To get out of the valley as we had proposed, we had 
to cross the river upon a flat-bottomed boat, called " The 



TO THE PACIFIC. 201 

Ferry," and make our way directly around the face of 
old El Capitan, the size of which was brought out by 
the time occupied in passing by it. By a very sharp 
grade we make our way up to the top of the hill ; the 
trail being about four miles and a half from Black's to 
the foot of the hill, and two miles and a half to the top, 
and the ascent equivalent to a vertical rise of more 
than three thousand feet. 

Before we are out of the valley, let us pause and take 
a short view of the flora. The most pleasing flower 
was the great masses of what we call swamp-cheese 
(Azcdia occidentalis), whose blossoms were both superb 
and deliciously fragrant. On the banks of the river we 
find Helleniunn grandifloriim, whose flowers are yellow, 
and very showy. In a little pond, yellow pond-lilies 
are seen, and ferns in great variety, and, in the swampy 
meadows, some very peculiar and rare sedges, or coarse 
grasses. 

The principal trees are alder {Alnus viridis)^ Douglas 
spruce (Abies Douglasii), Balm of Gilead poplar (Popu- 
lus halsamifera), yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa), the 
cedar (Lihocedrus decurrens). 

Among the shrubs are the Cornus Nuttallii, Rubus 
Nutkanus^ the manzanita (Arctosta phylos glauca), the 
wild rose (Hosa hlanda). 

In sandy places we have several varieties of pentste- 



202 THE ATLANTIC 

mon, the Frangula Callfornica, the brake (Pteris aqui- 
lina), the Spracjuea umhellata, together with many 
smaller and less characteristic flowers and shrubs, cover- 
ing the ground in patches. 

While we have been botanizing, we have reached a 
point far up on our trail ; and here, just in the worst 
place, we meet a party coming down into the valley. 
Here's a place for a compromise, for one of tlie parties 
has to turn back. After some parleying, it is left for 
the guides to decide ; and all, save a luoman or two, ac- 
quiesce. To add further to our difficulties, a little far- 
ther on we meet a drove of four wild cattle, being driven 
into the valley ; and here is danger, which is averted 
by the quick movements of the young Mexican lad who 
is driving them, who spurs his horse out of the trail 
gets in ahead of the cattle, and drives them on the 
rocks above us, allowing us all to pass in safety. At 
length the top of the hill is reached, and we are at the 
house well known as Gentry's Station. But they have 
christened a new addition, " Alta-mont Hotel," which 
will do for Eastern tourists ; but it will always becalled 
Gentry's by the old ranchers and hunters of the region, 
as well as by the drivers who bring their stages to this 
point. 

As we rode up to a tree, jumped from our mule, and 
tied iEsculapius for the last time, we could not resist 



TO THE PACIFIC. 203 

patting him on the head, and getting for him a bunch 
of hay. He had carried us many a mile, never had 
made a misstep, and generally had shown an obedient 
disposition. We trust that he may always have a 
kind master ; and, as the guide led him with the others 
back towards the valley, our best wishes went with that 
mule. 

This is the end of the carriage-road on this side of 
the mountain, whether you come by way of Coulterville 
or Big Oak Flat. After a good dinner, given us by 
Messrs. Gentry and Stockird, we were off upon our 
return-trip. 

Seven miles brought us to Crane Flat. The village 
consists of a large barn, two frame houses, and a saloon ; 
the latter being the popular resort of travellers. As 
our team was tired out by their drive the day before, 
we were obliged to stay over night ; and Mrs. Ann 
Gobin, who keeps the inn while her husband looks after 
his fifteen thousand sheep, took good care of us with 
the accommodations which she had. Enough to eat 
there was ; but, as the buildings have few partitions, you 
can perceive some difficulty in arranging beds for a 
large company. Although a place uninviting in every 
way, still we made up our minds to be satisfied; and 
finding a table in the saloon, which Mr. Hurst kindly 
allowed us to use, we penned one of our former chapters, 



204 THE ATLANTIC 

and made our notes for this. The table, no doubt, had 
been " put to baser uses/' according to the custom of 
the country. 

We were told that the South Tuolumne Grove of 
Big Trees was situated within a circuit of three miles 
of this place, and we resolved to see them : and, arran- 
ging with Master Gobin to conduct us in the morning, 
we retired early; for breakfast was announced to be 
ready at six, and the stage to be off at seven. 

An uncommonly early start ; and we were soon among 
the tall sugar-pines, which, in the gray light of morn- 
ing, seemed like huge sentinels keeping watch of the 
surrounding hills. To add to the interest of our walk, 
just as we entered the forest where the Sequoia were, 
our guide sang out, " Keep this way ! for there's a 
grizzly's hole ; " and, not feeling like encountering one 
of these fellows, we did "keep this way" in good 
earnest. Wouldn't you have done the same ? 

My tramp, although a hard one, amply repaid me. 
The trees stand upon the northerly slope of the hill, in 
a sheltered position ; and, although not so large as those 
at Mariposa, still there are some specimens, which for 
beauty of form, symmetry, and healthfulness, are unsur- 
passed by any others. There is a stump left of a 
partly-burned tree, which must have been some twenty- 
three feet in diameter. The trees axe ^onjewhat scat^ 



TO THE PACIFIC. 205 

tered, but are well worthy a more extended examination 
than we could give them. We made our way out to 
the road, which has recently been completed through 
this section, which -we followed back to the house, 
where we arrived rather late, as all our party had 
breakfasted. Although they bantered me for my early 
rising, and loss of what they termed a " magnificent 
breakfast," we had seen the trees, and they had not, 
and we went to California to see such sights ; for we 
can eat at home, but can't see such specimens of vege- 
tation. 

Nevertheless, we had our breakfast, and were ready 
when the stage came to the door. 

By the way, last evening, while we were sitting upon 
the piazza, who should drive up but our friend Daniel 
S. Harris of Springfield, Mass., president of the Con- 
necticut-valley E-ailroad ? He was accompanied by his 
wife; and it was, as you can imagine, a surprise to meet 
them so far away from our homes. 

Our road is a narrow way, built around the sides of 
the hills, and, by a steep grade, takes us down to the San 
Joaquin Valley. One's continual fear is, that one will 
meet a carriage coming in the opposite direction ; and, 
as a rule, one's fears become facts. A few miles on, in 
seemingly the worst place, we met an up-stage. A 
dilemma was at hand. " What will they do ? " cried the 

18 



206 THE ATLANTIC 

ladies ; and the men, unused to sucli incidents, looked 
troubled and perplexed. A few words between the 
drivers seemed to put things to rights ; for the 
driver of the up-stage began to unhitch his horses, 
accomplishing which, he drove the horses by our stage, 
and gave them in charge of one of the passengers ; 
then he had the people in his wagon get out, and pass 
on ; then they drew the carriage along with two of the 
wheels down the bank, and a half-dozen of us holding 
it up to prevent it tumbling do\yn into the valley several 
hundred feet. In this position, our stage passed slowly 
by; the i^^-stage was drawn up again upon the road, 
the horses attached, the people seated, and each went 
on. Except in the mountains, where any road is a 
great undertaking, there would be some better plan 
of turnouts; but our knights managed this so nicely, 
that it only made a slight delay. Along all mountain- 
paths, here and there is seen the wreck of a stage or 
some vehicle, sometimes many hundred feet below in 
the valley, sometimes overturned by the roadside ; and 
very frequently is seen a carcass of a horse or mule, 
which, failing by the way, has been killed, its whiten- 
ing skeleton telling of the toilsome journeys. 

About noon we reached Pechart's Ranch, upon which 
Bower Cave is located. This cave is in a limestone 
formation. The rock, having been worn away by sub- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 207 

terranean streams until it was too slight to hold up 
the superincumbent mass, has fallen in, carrying with 
it the trees and earth, so that now, in the bottom of this 
great hole, are four large trees which fell with the earth. 
Some little crevices in the rock can be explored ; a little 
pool of water very transparent is there, upon which a 
little boat floats ; and this is the cave. Lady Franklin 
visited it in 1862, and we in 1872 ; but, notwithstand- 
ing this, I cannot recommend any one to make much 
exertion or delay to visit Bower Cave. 

At about six o'clock we reached Coulterville, the dis- 
tance being from Crane Flat thirty-three miles and one- 
half. This place was named after George W. Coulter, 
who was an early miner, a massed a great fortune, which 
he spent in gambling, and at last died poor. It is a 
dead place ; and decay and stagnation are seen on 
every side. It lies on the great quartz vein of the 
State ; and some fine stamp-mills were erected in the 
vicinity, which to-day are all still. We are at an eleva- 
tion of eighteen hundred feet, and on the middle ground 
between foot-hills and mountains. 

We were quartered for the night at the City Hotel, 
where the accommodations are miserable, and where 
the landlord, a German, means to take from guests all 
he can, heedless of how he entertains them. 

We visited in the evening Mr. Adolph Sinning, who, 



208 THE ATLANTIC 

in 1850, left Germany, and came to the Mariposa country. 
Unsuccessful as a miner, he again turned his attention 
to his trade as a worker in nice woods ; and, in his little 
shop and house (for he lives entirely alone), we saw 
some of the finest work in wood which we ever found. 
Specimens of his handiwork have been sent over Europe 
and this country ; and he receives orders from a distance. 
He remains here to be near to the trees which give him 
his finest woods, which he fashions into exquisite forms, 
of boxes, tables, canes, &c. 

To insure our reaching Merced in time for the train 
in the afternoon, it was arranged to start by five, a.m. 

We had a meagre breakfast ; and, from our experience 
at Coulterville, we should advise every one to arrange not 
to remain here over night until a better house is opened, 
for the treatment which guests receive is a general com- 
plaint, and the managers of that route would do well 
to have a decent hotel for travellers by their road. 

The early start got us well on our way before the sun 
was high enough to trouble us with heat ; but the latter 
part of our way was hot and dusty and tedious. We 
came out of the foot-hills a few miles south of where we 
entered them. 

About one o'clock we drove into the lively village of 
Snelling, the seat of Merced County, situated on the 
Merced River, which is here a beautiful river, and would 



TO THE PACIFIC. 209 

furnish good water-power if there was any demand for 
it. We found the Gait House a good place to get a 
dinner ; and, from what little we saw of the place, this 
must be a good home-like hotel. 

We hurried away from this place, and, a few miles out, 
crossed the river upon a ferry. It was such a ferry as 
is often seen in Europe, but seldom here, and is called a 
"tidal ferry." A stout cable is stretched across the 
river ; and the boat, by means of ropes and hawsers, is 
lield to the cable, attached by a tackle-block in which is 
a large pulley which rolls along the cable. The boat 
is pushed into the stream, headed just right, the hawsers 
secured; and the current pushing the boat down, and it 
being held, carries it swiftly towards the opposite bank. 
The apparatus was crude ; the boat was managed by two 
men, one a Chinaman. As the boatman was not at his 
post when we drove up, but in his house, a long distance 
away from the river, it took a deal of noise from our 
driver to rouse the fellow up, who, when he came, com- 
plained of being taken from his dinner. This delay 
came near costing us the loss of our train at Merced. 

By urging our horses, and especially the driver, by 
the promise of an allowance over regular wages, we 
were enabled to reach the city of Merced just as the 
train was starting ; and only the politeness of the con- 
ductor saved us a stay over night. Without a look at 
18* 



210 THE ATLANTIC 

any body or any thing, we tumbled out of the stage into 
the cars, and were soon again on our way towards 
Lathrop, where we join the main line. 

As we again looked over the vast plain, so level, and 
so different in character from the country in which, for 
two weeks, we had lived, we could not but exclaim, — 

" Level leagues forsaken lie, — 
A grassy waste extending to the sky." 

In this valley, a few weeks ago, the land was covered 
with ripened wheat, from which now the heads had 
been cut, leaving the straw standing on either side as 
far as the eye could reach. 

During our ride down to Modesto, we formed the 
acquaintance of Mr. C. J. Cressy, of the firm of Cressy 
Brothers, among the largest farmers and millers in the 
valley, who have this year in wheat a little more than 
ten thousand acres, own some six thousand sheep, run a 
flour-mill at Modesto, and, by attention to their busi- 
ness, make it i^y. From Mr. Cressy we gained much 
information regarding the cultivation of wheat in this 
valley ; but, as the climate and soil of California varies 
so in different sections, a mode found successful here 
would fail in another place. 

The soil of this valley looks like sand, and is, in fact, 



TO THE PACIFIC. 211 

granite, ground into dust by the ice-floe whicli made the 
Yo-Semite. The custom is, to begin to plough just as 
soon as the autumn rains begin. A gang-plough con- 
sists of seven ; and of these each farmer has as many as 
he can find teams for. They start their ploughs ; and 
immediately behind them follow the seeders, also drawn 
by horses, which drop the seed, cover, and roll, at 
the same time. Nothing more is done to it till the 
grain is ripe, and ready for the harvest. They plough 
and plant to almost the ripening of the first sowing ; 
and this plan, year after year, is followed. When the 
grain is ripe, they run a header through the field. This 
is a great cutting-machine, which simply clips off the 
heads of the grain. The horses push it along, instead 
of dragging it ; and the grain is carried upon an apron 
into the wagon, which follows alongside of the header -, 
and, when full, the heads are carried to convenient piles, 
where a steam-engine is driving a threshing-machine, 
which leaves the grain perfectly clean, and which is put 
at once into bags, and sent to market. Here no rains 
interfere with the harvest. The straw is all burned off; 
and, by the time the ground is cleared, the rains begin 
(early in October), and the ploughs are started. 

Mr. John Mitchell, the largest farmer in California, 
owns between fifty and sixty thousand acres in this 
valley, and, this year, had raising thirty thousand acres 



212 THE ATLANTIC 

in wheat alone. His ranch is divided into sections of 
different sizes ; and upon each he has houses and barns, 
and a rancher, to whom he furnishes seed, and takes 
one-half the crop. Of these sections, or small ranches, 
he has about a hundred, and spends his time in riding 
in his buggy, drawn by a team of fine bays, from house 
to house, and directing the work on his vast domain- 
He is a bachelor, and said to be a gentleman ; and his 
income this year will be two hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars from his lands. 

The average yield in this valley will be but little 
more than ten bushels per acre ; although those ranchos 
which were well ploughed and seeded will yield twenty 
bushels per acre, and in a few instances more. The price 
of wheat, at the time of which I speak, was two cents 
per pound at the ranch. 

Our very interesting conversation was too soon ended 
by the arrival of the train at Modesto, the home of Mr. 
Gressy, who was to spend Sunday at his own house, and 
then return to the ranchos. 

Before we reached Lathrop it was dark ; and, after a 
long waiting, the train came up which was to take us 
towards Sacramento. I had decided to stop at Stock- 
ton till Monday ; while all the rest — to some of whom 
I had become much attached — were to push on to 
Sacramento, and to their Eastern homes. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 213 

It was only a few miles to Stockton ; and, as I left 
the train, a feeling of sadness came over me to leave 
friends from Boston and Philadelphia, whom I found so 
uniformly kind, and in such contrast with manj'- with 
whom you are of necessity thrown. Journeying together 
in a stage-coach for days will bring out character better 
than any where I have ever found. As the train moved 
away, I felt so lonely, that a tear irresistibly moistened 
my eye. ISTight, and I in a far-off city, among stran- 
gers, and all my friends speeding away home ! 

Jumping into a buss, we were soon at the hotel 
named " Grand ; " and our first thought was to repair our 
dilapidated condition, for rents appeared in all direc- 
tions, and dh't was plenty. 

Long shall I remember my trip to the Yo-Semite j and 
my desire is now far greater than before to go and stay 
during the summer among those wonders, and with Mr. 
Muir read that great hook of Nature which lies spread 
out in such grand scenery. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Stockton. — A Trip down the San Joaquin. — Expenses of a Trip 
to California. — The Season of the Year to make the Journey. 

It would be a pleasing task to describe the beautiful 
flowers which are seen in a journey among the Sierras. 
In going to such an elevation, all the seasons are found. 
In the San Joaquin Valley, it was autumn ; the plants 
had blossomed, produced their seed, and were at rest. 
Up the mountains a short distance, it was midsummer; 
and the earth was covered with bright flowers. At an 
elevation of, say, five thousand feet, it was early spring; 
the plants were just pushing out of the ground : and, at 
seven thousand feet, it was winter, the snow still cover- 
ing the earth. All these gradations in plant-life are 
seen in a ride of, say, two days. The flowers of the moun- 
tains of California are very brilliant in color, the yellow 
prevailing to a great extent, seemingly, as Grace Green- 
wood prettily said, " to let us know that yellow gold is 

under them." 

214 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 215 

But we cannot delay longer with the flowers, espe- 
cially now that we are again in the valley, at the '^city 
of windmills/' called 

STOCKTON. 

It is a port of entry ; has a line of steamers to San 
Francisco, which come up the San Joaquin Kiver, and 
into the slough (always pronounced here s-l-u), upon 
which the city is situated. Among steamboat men this 
place is always called ^' Slu city." Imagine a kind of 
channel making up from the main river, with a dozen 
sloughs emptying their (usually stagnant) waters into it, 
with long wooden, bridges (often only for foot-passen- 
gers) over them in all directions, with buildings erected 
upon the ridges of dry land between these sloughs, with 
a short line of wharf along the main channel, a place 
which seems to be all under water, with stagnant pools 
breeding miasma, a few good buildings, but mostly poor 
old structures, and upon each a fantastic windmill, and 
you have the city of Stockton. It contains about ten 
thousand people : is the outlet of the great San Joaquin 
Valley, but has been greatly injured by the railroad, 
which goes hy, instead of through, the city, as it ought to 
have done. It is the county-seat of the county named 
after the great river, and the valley through which it 



216 THE ATLANTIC 

flows. Once its trade was large ; but now it has dwindled 
away, and the city seems " under a cloud," as well as 
under water. The house at which we are lodged is kept 
by a Frenchman, who calls his house " The Grand/' 
takes good care of you, in a neat room and with fairly- 
cooked and fairly-served food. If I should say that 
I rose early the next morning after my arrival, you 
would know that it was a " slip of the pen : " so I take 
care to say that I took an exti^emely fashionable eleven- 
o'clock breakfast. 

Finding my friend, the E<ev. Mr. Fitzgerald, ex- 
commissioner of public schools, we attended the church 
where he officiated, but must own we were in ill humor 
to hear a sermon. 

The afternoon found me strolling around the cit}^, and 
trying to gather some notions of its present prosperity 
and future growth. It is so badly situated, so injured 
by the railroads, and so unhealthy, that I cannot see 
any good reasons to anticipate a large city. It is too 
near Sacramento, the capital, and has not in itself any 
elements which will command prosperity. Just at sun- 
set we had wandered to the western extremity of the 
city, where begin the ^^z^Ze-lands, which stretch away to 
the west to the very horizon. These tide-lands are 
formed by the overflow of the great rivers called San 
Joaquin and Sacramento, and consist of soft, porous 



TO THE PACIFIC. 217 

soil, thoroughly saturated with water. There are bayous 
which make up far into these lands, many of them quite 
deep, hut all of which have the title " slu." Covering 
the country for miles, and growing in the porous soil, is 
the rush called tide (tu-la), which attains a height of 
from five to eight feet. In August, when the river has 
become low, and has drained these vast acres, and the 
plants have become somewhat dry, the steamboat-hands 
have a custom of firing them along the banks of the 
river ; and then they have fires rivalling those of the 
Western prairies. There are now experiments being 
tried of reclaiming these lands, under the patronage of 
the State. An immense dike is made around a number 
of acres, keeping out the water ; and one season dries up 
the soil sufficiently to allow of its being turned in, and 
the next season it is fit for planting. I was told that 
satisfactory crops of wheat had been raised ; but the farms 
seem better adapted for raising vegetables for the San 
Francisco market. The work is done by Chinamen ; 
and I know of no other class of laborers who could be 
found to go into such a country, and survive the dangers 
of disease to which they are exposed ; but they seem to 
be destined to be the power which shall reclaim these 
vast acres, and fit them for cultivation. 

We lingered until the sun went down, and we beheld 
the most gorgeous sunset we ever looked upon. Talk of 

19 



218 THE ATLANTIC 

the Italian sunsets ! tell of those in New England 
in the Indian-summer time ! — they cannot be compared 
with those which are seen upon the banks of these rivers. 
The moisture which rises from the lands offers its innu- 
merable particles as so many reflectors, all increasing 
the brilliancy of the scene. As old Sol sank in this 
sea of mist, his parting beams were shot far up 
toward the zenith, seemingly striving to catch the rising 
beams which the morning brings from the east. 

During our stay in the city, we visited the Insane 
Asylum, where were collected a larger number of 
patients than in any similar institution in the world. 
The day of our visit, there were more than thirteen hun- 
dred at the institution. By politeness of Dr. Titus, 
physician in charge, we were enabled to make an ex- 
tended examination of the asylum ; and, in company 
with Dr. Langdon, we visited all the A^arious wards, and 
beheld insanity in all its forms of development. 

The great excitement under which the people live, 
especially those who gamble in stocks, produces terrible 
wrecks of the nervous system. That there is a climatic 
tendency to over-excitement, and consequent waste of 
nerve-power, is very evident. The physicians give the 
causes which lead to insanity in the State, as, 1st, Dis- 
sipation ; 2d, Business losses ; 3d, Homesickness ; and 
all aggravated by the climate, and, of course, developing 



TO THE PACIFIC. 219 

more readily in persons with an hereditary tendency 
towards the disease than in others. The institution is 
greatly overcrowded ; and it is a very serious question 
how the insane poor are to be cared for in the State. 
When it is considered how great is the floating popu- 
lation, it can be understood how great is the respon- 
sibility resting npon California to properly care for this 
class of unfortunates. Having visited all the wards in 
both the male and female asjdums, and all the depart- 
ments of administration, I must bear witness to the 
general order, neatness, and attention to the comfort of 
the patients, shown throughout ; and this, too, when the 
buildings are so overcrowded, that cots are nightly 
placed in the halls, transforming them into dormitories. 
To Dr. Langdon I am under great obligations for his 
courtesies ; and as we went from ward to ward entirely 
unannounced, and when not expected, if, on the part of 
various attendants, there had been any cruelty (of which 
we are now hearing so much in the New- York asjdums), 
or neglect in their duties, I should have discovered it 
without doubt 5 but I must say that I saw little of which 
to complain, save what was too evident, — that there were 
more patients than could be properly and conveniently 
cared for. If any of my readers should visit Stockton, 
they will be amply repaid in a visit to this institu- 
tion ; and Drs. Ditus and Langdon will be found to bo 



220 THE ATLANTIC 

skilled in the arts of the agreeable gentleman, as well 
as in the science of the human mind. 

Our stay at Stockton was made very pleasant by meet- 
ing those whose acquaintance we had formed on our 
journey to the Golden State ; and as they were from the 
East, making now this city their home, we found much 
pleasure in looking about a place new both to them, as 
well as ourselves, and talking of dear New England so 
far away. 

The steamer leaves Stockton daily at thirty minutes 
past two, P.M., for San Francisco ; and we had resolved 
to enjoy a sail down the San Joaquin. 

As we stepped on board the boat, we thought we 
passed a familiar face ; and after starting down the 
"slough" towards the river, some six miles distant, 
we discovered that the "man of the familiar face" 
was the captain. As soon as opportunity offered, we 
spoke to him, and found him to be an old Sound pilot, 
who had made many a trip from New York to 
Providence, familiar with every rock and shoal of the 
river, at the head of which sits Providence upon her 
many hills : he also remembered many who now are still 
plying those waters. It was a pleasing incident to sit 
and chat with one who knew the land of my birth, and 
to be able to tell him of many of his old comrades at 
sea, their positions, the vessels to which they were at- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 221 

taclied, and of the good and had fortunes which had 
come to each. Long shall I remember Capt. M. C. 
Cunningham and the little steamer '' Cornelia." It was 
late before I retired, to wake up at the wharf in the 
city which sits at the Golden Gate. 

For six miles we go down the slough, narrow, and, at 
low water, unnavigable; and then, by a turn so sharp 
that the stern of the steamer went " high and dry " 
uj^on the mud bank, we shoot out into a wader stream, 
the main river ; and by the most crooked of all crooked 
streams, — often so narrow that you could step from the 
steamer upon the banks, then so shallow that the keel 
would drag in the mud, — we made our way through 
these great "^rass" fields; for seemingly the ships 
which we would see all around us, the river being 
crooked, and the sloughs so numerous, were sailing 
through the grass. 

The boats in the rivers are propelled by double hori- 
zontal engines, driving side-wheels ; for often it would be 
an impossibility to make the turn, unless they could 
work one wheel, while the other acted as pivot upon 
which to turn the boat. 

We made several stops at places where the work of 

reclaiming these lands was being carried on ; and just 

at sundown we came out into Suisun Bay, into which 

empty the two great rivers Sacramento and San Joaquin, 
19* 



222 THE ATLANTIC 

which, for several miles back, have only a narrow strip of 
land dividing their waters, and so low that you see 
plainly from one river the sloops and steamers in the 
other. We make a landing here, and take in coal from 
Monte Diabalo, the discovery of which is of quite recent 
date. From Suisun Ba}^, our course lies down through 
San Pablo Bay to the city, as I have before described. 

Morning found me back to San Francisco, and again 
comfortably quartered at the Lick House. 

While we are resting from the fatigues of our jour- 
ney to the Yo-Semite and back, let me give a few rules 
to be observed in travelling among the mountains. 
Dress warml}^, but in clothes which you are not afraid 
to have soiled. A woollen shirt is desirable ; and wear 
English walking-shoes, rather than boots. Over your 
shoulders, and tied quite tightly about your neck, wear 
a white silk handkerchief 5 for, although the air is cool, 
the rays of the sun at those altitudes are often produc- 
tive of very injurious effects. Avoid drinking much 
snow-water, and allay thirst with a bit of cracker until 
a spring is found. Do not descend from a high altitude 
to a lower one suddenly, as congestion of the lungs is 
the effect. Always choose a mule, instead of a horse, as 
they are surer footed. Above all, never complain be- 
cause you do not have city comforts, but be contented 
wherever you may be, assured that nothing is had with- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 223 

out some work and hardships. And by all means let 
me urge the rule which I laid down in the first chapter, to 
map out well your journey before starting ; understand 
where you are going, and what ought to be seen; ar- 
range for your whole trip, in cars, stages, for guides, for 
horses or mules, toll, and all other charges, as far as can 
be, and thus you will be saved many inconveniences and 
annoyances. Many were the disappointments which I 
saw occasioned by not considering the journey before it 
was undertaken. 

And I might as well add here what I have to say 
about the cost of a trip to California. Either through 
ignorance, or to influence people to undertake the jour- 
ney, I have seen estimates made which were so far from 
the facts, that I cannot well understand how they were 
computed. I did not follow those which I had seen, and 
that, too, in respectable journals ; for I found, when I in- 
quired about the mere cost of car-fare and living on the 
way, that the estimates were wrong. The figures which 
I shall give will be liberal, for I did not refuse myself 
any comfort but will not include extras or sundries, 
for which I never make allowance. It must be borne in 
mind, that, after you enter California, your payments are 
made in gold; and, while I was in the State, the value of 
greenbacks fluctuated from 88;^ to 92^ ; but, as a rule in 
trade, they are taken at ninety cents on a dollar. Actual 



224 THE ATLANTIC 

experience is the best teaclier ; and my figures will be a 
safe guide to one whose wants are simple, but who be- 
lieves that a first-class hotel is the cheapest place to stop 
at, and wants the best of the market, although he never 
" calls a hack " to ride a block, and never has an item 
upon his hotel bill denominated " extras " or " sundries." 
The amounts are reduced to currency. 

EXPENSES. 

For car-tickets from Boston to San Francisco, and return, $286 CO 

For sleeping-berths (Pullman cars) 32 00 

For meals 40 00 

For Salt Lake City, and return to Ogden 6 00 

For three days' board at $4 12 00 

For two weeks in San Francisco, $3 per day (in gold), and 
for porters, hacks, and horse-car rides, $1 more (parlors 

and fires extra) 65 00 

For the Geysers, and return (4 days) 35 00 

For San Jose and Santa Clara (3 days) 20 00 

For the Yo-Semite, and return (2 weeks), including all 

charges 150 00 

For travel upon the railroads of California per mile ... .05 

For hack-rides the charges are five times our own for 
same service, and payable in gold. For the short excur- 
sions to Oakland, Alameda, Mare Island, Vallejo, San 

Raphael, &c 25 00 

For trips in Southern California (Los Angeles) 150 00 

For Lakes Donner and Tahoe 50 00 

For Virginia city (Nevada) 30 00 

For Colorado, Denver, Golden, Idaho Springs, and the min- 
ing-country at Black Hawk and Central, allowing two 
weeks 200 00 



TO THE PACIFIC. 225 

From whicli data it is seen that a round trip, including 
the chief points of interest in California^, will cost about 
eight hundred dollars ; and twelve hundred can he profit- 
ably spent by including Nevada, Colorado, and Utah ; 
and these places ought not to be omitted. 

Eor a few days after my return from the Yo-Semite 
I felt rather tired ; but, nevertheless, my time was fully 
occupied in studying the city, the results of which have 
been given in former chapters. 

We had been enjoying the usual cool weather of sum- 
mer, when on Wednesday morning, June 19, the ther- 
mometer suddenly rose to 92° Fahrenheit, which, for this 
city, was extreme 5 and, dressed in winter-clothing, one 
suffered much : but all advised no change of dress, 
for they said a sudden change would come soon. By 
noon telegrams came pouring in from all parts of the 
State of great heat, as at Napa City 107°, and San Jose 
104°. That day over, the next was warmer, and 96° 
was reached, — a higher figure than a record of eleven 
years showed, and many said higher than ever before. 
So you see, the great wave of heat which swept over the 
East, overpowering so many in our great cities, also 
swept over the West in unprecedented fierceness. On 
Friday, about noon, the change did come, and indeed 
suddenly ; for, seemingly in an hour, an overcoat was 
needed, and by sundown we had a fire in the hotel 
parlor. 



226 THE ATLANTIC 

This is their summer weather : in the winter, it is 
more even, with no fogs. 

And this leads me naturally to speak of the 

SEASON TO VISIT CALIFORNIA. 

The rains begin about Oct. 1, and, with an inter- 
mission of a few weeks in January and February, con- 
tinue till March ; from which time, to October again, 
they have no rain at all : hence this is a State of either 
mud or dust, with short seasons of extremely delightful 
weather. Instead of the plants and trees resting in 
winter by means of frosts, they rest here in late summer 
b}^ means of drought. Before I left the State (late in 
June), many plants, and some of the trees, had already 
completed their growth, and ripened their seed and wood, 
and were at rest. On most of the deciduous trees, the 
old leaves remain until pushed off, as it were, by the 
new ones. So many months of drought, as can be 
imagined from the lack of rain in New England for 
even two weeks, make every thing extremely dry, and 
to see a green thing is delightful : so that, in the small 
gardens, constant irrigation is resorted to, to keep a 
little grass green, and the trees and the shrubs in leaf 

The roads are, during the rainy season, almost impas- 
sable by reason of the mud, and, in the summer, by the 



TO THE PACIFIC. 227 

dustj whichj I apprehend, is far more disagreeable than 
mud, if my experience with it gives any data for a 
judgment. It is of the utmost importance, then, that 
we make our journey at the proper season. And this is 
my advice : Leave the Atlantic coast about the first of 
April, as then the snow-storms of the Rocky Moun- 
tains are over, and go direct to San Francisco, which 
make, as a Frenchman would say, y out point d''ap2nd. 
Spend at least two weeks in looking about the city and 
immediate vicinity ; and, if you propose a trip to Los 
Angeles and Southern California, go there first, and then 
return to the city. Make your excursion through the 
Santa Clara Vallej^, and to the geysers. By this time 
the trails will be open to the Yo-Semite ; and to this 
famed place it is best to go early, that those wonderful 
waterfalls may be seen in their majesty. 

From a month to six weeks (as you go to Southern 
California, or not) will thus be fully employed. 

Returning on the Central Pacific from Truckee, visit 
Lakes Donner and Tahoe ; and from Reno go to Vir- 
ginia City and the great silver mines of Nevada. 
Either of these excursions will occupy three days fully. 
From Ogden, go down to Salt Lake City, which will be 
in her lovely spring dress, the Wahsatch range still 
snow-clad, where two or three days ought to be spent, 
and more if the mines are visited. 



228 THE ATLANTIC 

At Cheyenne, on the Union Pacific, we leave the 
main line for our journey through Colorado ; make a stay 
of a few days at Denver, and then go to Golden ; from 
which point we now start by stage or carriage for the 
great mines and smelting- works and stamp-mills at 
Central, Georgetown, Blackhawk, and Nevada City. 
By next season the railroad will be completed far up 
Clear-creek Caiion, towards Central, so that soon the 
whole distance will be made in cars. The road is now 
completed, and running some six miles up the canon, 
which abounds in beautiful scenery throughout its 
entire length. 

If time permits, the '^ Parks " in the mountains can 
be visited, and manj?- other interesting points. Two 
weeks, at least, should be spent in Colorado. At Omaha 
a stop should be made to look over the city, and also to 
examine the great iron bridge over the Missouri E-iver 
at this point. There are several places in Iowa and 
other Western States, where a little time can be spent 
very profitably on your way back to the East, or, say, to 
Niagara Falls, where you arrive just as the season 
begins, and where I have for many times found the 
International one of the choice places to take a good 
rest. 

A trip to California is far more pleasing than one to 
Europe : you are all the while in your own country, and 



TO THE PACIFIC. 229 

with people speaking your own language ; and the places 
visited are of far more beauty and interest. The round 
trip cannot be made any more cheaply than a trip to 
London and Paris in the summer ; but if, of the many 
thousands who every year go to Europe, more would go 
to California, and back, or even to Colorado and the 
Eocky Mountains, they would be far better pleased, and 
much more instructed. To enjoy Europe properly, a 
certain knowledge of the language is required ; but 
almost every one can find enjoyment in our Great West. 
To some, her vast resources will be most pleasing ; to 
others, her grand scenery will be a full enjoyment. 
Travelling is made as comfortable as can be, saving 
only a few inconveniences on the longer roads; and 
many of these will be remedied during the year. 

We are now thinking of our homeward journey : shall 
spend next Sunday with Mr. Ealston, and next morn- 
ing turn our faces towards the rising sun. 
20 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

A Day at Ralston's. — The Fine Estates in San Mateo County. — 
The Start Homeward. — Our Car. — A Hotel on Wheels. — 
The Trip to Ogden. 

SuxDAY morning, the 23d of June, came in with a 

warm and genial atmosphere entirely free of fog. Such 

a day is rather uncommon in San Francisco during the 

summer months ; and, to find a luarm climate, the people 

go to the valleys, as up through Napa to Calistoga and 

White Sulphur Springs, or down through the Santa 

Clara, to the various charming villages and cities, or the 

palatial homes which are scattered all through San 

Mateo County. At one of these homes we are to spend 

the day, and enjoy the hospitality of its genial host. 

Eight o'clock found us all on board the train, which 

traverses the Santa Clara Valley, and over a road which 

they are pushing on as fast as possible to be one link in 

a southern line which is to cross the continent. The 

Central Pacific Company have named this one of their 

many lines the Southern Pacific. As I have described 
230 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC, 281 

the country in a former chapter, I need only say that we 
are to go to a station named Menlo Park, where Mr. 
Kalston is to meet us. On our trip down we had an op- 
portunity to chat with Mr. James Lick, one of the rich- 
est and largest real-estate owners in California, who 
built the famous Lick House. Mr. Lick early went to 
Mexico, and, during the years 1848-49, wended his way 
north, and reached San Francisco, and at once began to 
purchase lands, and year by year found himself growing 
rich beyond the dreams of the greatest enthusiast of the 
newly-founded city. He is a widower, of excessively 
plain habits and dress ; lives in his log-cabin on a rancho 
near the city of San Jose ; carries a dilapidated carpet- 
bag, and wears a dilaiyidated hat; walks instead of 
rides ; and, when he visits the city, finds his wants sup- 
plied in the poorest room, and with the simplest fare, in 
his great hotel By trade he is a cabinet-maker; has a 
fine mill, where he works a little, but finds his chief en- 
joyment in cultivating his garden, where he collects 
trees from all parts of the world, plants them, and cares 
for them tenderly. In speech he is not fluent, but talks 
with intelligence ; in carriage he is awkward, and there 
is nothing to indicate a man of talent. His wealth is 
counted by millions ; yet he leaves the management of 
his property mostly to others, and does not seem to be 
conscious of his vast possessions. He is not what you 



232 THE ATLANTIC 

would call a viiser, yet lie prefers oiot to spend any of 
his money for what most of us deem comforts in this 
world. He has one son, a farmer in one of the great 
States east of the Rocky Mountains, who will inherit his 
vast wealth. It was very interesting to hear from his 
own lips some facts of his life, and to be. thus brought 
into conversation with him, of whom you hear so much 
as soon as you reach San Francisco. 

A ride of about an hour, and we are drawn up at the 
station, where Mr. Ralston receives us kindly, and asks 
us to a seat in his carriage. Our party consisted of Super- 
intendent Sickels, wife and two daughters, Grace Green- 
wood, Mrs. Mitchell, and myself. Mr. William Ralston 
is a man rising forty, of stout build, with a countenance 
and air which tell of the hospitality and cheer which he 
loves so well to bestow. He is free from all affectation ; 
and you at once forget the money-ldng, and see only the 
genial gentleman. 

The carriage was built upon the English style, with 
seats lengthwise, a raised seat in front, and with the 
usual attachments of a brake, which is indispensable for 
the hills. To our carriage were harnessed four bays of 
perfect form, and full of spirit, which were held by a 
man whom I judged to be the driver. As soon as we 
were all seated, Mr. Ralston himself took the reins, and 
at a word the horses started at a lively pace. Surely, we 



TO THE PACIFIC. 233 

thought, this is grand to be driven by such a knight, 
and at such a speed. 

We were in a beautiful country, — a great park by 
Nature formed and planted. The roads, although dusty, 
were wide ; and we could see the houses among the low- 
branching live-oaks, which are the pride of the county. 
It was too late for the flowers : the grain, too, was 
ripened, and, in most parts, had been cut. After a short 
ride, we were drawn into the grounds of Milton S. La- 
tham, where no expense had been spared to make the 
place attractive. We visited the stable, which for size, 
and splendor of finish, we never saw surpassed. The 
beautiful woods of California had been used, and these 
had been finely polished ; while all the fittings and ap- 
purtenances were in keeping. It seemed to be just 
completed; and, in unpacking the furniture which was to 
be placed in the servants' quarters above, the men had 
set the small mirrors in the stalls, one in each ; upon 
which one of the ladies remarked, ^' Yes, indeed, this is 
the finest stable I ever saw; for don't you see they have 
furnished each horse with a mirror to make his morning 
toilet by?" The new mansion-house here is not yet 
completed; the former one having been, I believe, de- 
stroyed by fire. 

From here we were driven to the fine estate named 
" Valparaiso Park," owned by F. D. Atherton, Esq. 

20* 



234 THE ATLANTIC 

Mr. Atherton met iis upon the piazza; and, having 
given the ladies over to those of the house, the gentle- 
men were conducted through his fine grounds, where 
orchards of almond, nectarine, English walnut, apple, 
cherry, and fig, are growing, having been planted only- 
three years. The cactuses (cactacece) seemed to delight 
in this situation ; and one plant had attained the height 
of fifteen feet, and stout enough to sustain itself. The 
finest tree not indigenous to the place was the pepper- 
tree, near the house, whose feathery foliage was swayed 
by the slightest breath of air. The great oaks, with 
their extended branches, from which hung the moss in 
great tassels, dotted the extensive grounds ; and flowers, 
magnificent in color, and in a profusion unknown to our 
New-England gardens, made the air fragrant, and gave 
to the place exquisite beauty. In the mansion, elegance 
and taste were shown on every side, and in the dining- 
room were offered refreshing viands. 

It was too lovely a spot to leave so hurriedly; but 
our host summoned us for a ride towards his own man- 
sion. 

Our party had now been increased by Mr. and Mrs. 
Samuel Lawrence of Boston, and Stephen Masset, Esq., 
who is well known as " Jeemes Pipes of Pipesville," 
whose genial wit and pleasant hon mots gave a zest; to 
our other pleasures during the rest of the day. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 235 

It was a delightful drive whicli took us towards the 
village of Belmont; — the nearest railroad point to Ral- 
ston's home. Passing over a well-built road, through the 
town, which is regularly laid out, and where are many 
prett}^ cottages, we reach the entrance to Glenwood. 
The first object which meets our view is the neat build- 
ing where gas is produced for lighting the house, build- 
ings, and grounds. By these we dash at a lively pace, 
directly into the stable, where several grooms take our 
horses in charge, and Mr. Ralston takes his guests in 
charge, and from each removes the dust with a feather 
duster. He then shows us his stables, where that day 
twenty-one horses awaited their master's summons, with 
grooms sufficient to care for them. One thing was no- 
ticeable about the stables, which told something of 
the character of its owner, — that, while the utmost neat- 
ness prevailed, it was not over-Jiice, as the first stable we 
visited. The inside was kept freshly whitewashed ; and 
the carriages seemed arranged for instant use, instead of 
show. 

We walked to the house, and were ushered into an 
extended closed gallery, which surrounds the rooms of 
the lower floor, where Mrs. Ralston received the ladies, 
and conducted them to her apartments ; while the gen- 
tlemen were put into the hands of servants, to be at once 
" set in trim " by brooming and dusting, and washing and 



236 THE ATLANTIC 

combing. Before you had been in the house five minutes, 
you felt at home, and that the house was made to hve 
in, and that all the splendid and costly things which sur- 
rounded you were to be not only looked at, but handled. 
I should judge that the house was not built at once, 
upon a matured plan, but was the outgrowth of required 
accommodation. A dining-room, drawing-room, and 
library, surrounded on three sides by the gallery, with 
windows extending from floor to ceiling, with the kitchen 
and laundr}" ia the rear, and built directly into the hill, 
with a beautiful corridor at the top of the main stair- 
case, from which the chambers open, while over the 
kitchen is a large but as yet unfinished banquet-hall, 
comprise the main house. It is of wood, painted white, 
and is placed in a very sheltered position among the 
foot-hills of the coast-range of mountains, on the side 
towards the bay. Fine pictures, costly bronzes, and 
other works of vertu, are scattered about in defiance of 
all conventional taste ; but their very freedom gives a 
pleasing and hospitable air to the house. In the corri- 
dor, which was planned and arranged under the direction 
of Mrs. Balston, the hand of a cultivated taste is shown ; 
and, in all the appointments of the second story, there is 
the utmost order, as well as harmony. 

At twelve breakfast was announced; and we soon 
found ourselves around the table; and, for nearly two 



TO THE PACIFIC. 237 

hours, the courses of delicately-prepared food were 
brought in, while conversation and gayety filled up the 
intervals. I have sat down to elegant breakfasts in New 
York and elswhere ; but to this I yield the palm, both 
for the nicety of the viands, and the graceful manner in 
which it was served. 

We were shown over this spacious mansion ; and par- 
ticular pains were taken to conduct us to the kitchen, 
and show us the Chinese cooks, who prepared the food 
of which we had partaken. Here a chief cook with two 
assistants presides ; while Chinamen do all the general 
housework. The steward is a colored man ; the waiters 
are white men, probably Frenchmen ; and these, togeth- 
er with the help employed out of doors, make some 
twenty-five: and yet this establishment is conducted in 
the most orderly manner, and with an ease which sur- 
prises you. The same order and conduct on the part of 
the servants prevail daily, as I am assured by those who 
have spent several days together at the mansion. At 
three o'clock our carriage was driven to the door ; and, 
again bidding good-by to friends left behind, we seated 
ourselves for a ride up to San Mateo, a station far up the 
road towards the city. We were first taken over the es- 
tate ; and the skill which Mr. Ralston shows in guiding 
his horses over the steep and crooked roads was a mat- 
ter of remark by all. From the eminences, we had 



238 THE ATLANTIC 

beautiful views of tlie surrounding country. We passed 
from one fine estate to another, cliarmed witli the beau- 
tiful gardens and parks around the houses. On our 
journey we passed a little stone chapel, which must 
have been planned by an artist, for beauty was there ; 
and, with a slated or tiled roof, it would have been a 
gem of architecture.* We also drove through the place 
where lives Hay ward, the ruler in the stock -board, 
who, by the recent fall in stocks, found himself raised 
by millions, — almost the only one who profited by that 
terrible calamity which overtook the " dwellers in Cali- 
fornia Street." 

We drive into the village of San Mateo, where we 
are to take the train for the city : the team is sent back 
by a servant, and Mr. Ralston accompanies us to the 
city. 

When the Boston Board of Trade and their friends 
returned from San Francisco, all we heard of for some 
time was the praises of their entertainment by Mr. 
Balston ; and I must own that they could not over- 
praise the elegant manner in which the hospitality of 
■ Glen wood is dispensed. I have described our visit 
thus minutely, that my readers might gain an idea of 
how rich Californians entertain their friends; for, al- 
though Mr. Ralston's receptions are more princely, still 

* Bret Harte mentions this church. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 239 

there are many who outdo our Eastern magnates y and 
all here ennoble their entertainments with genuine 
hospitality, which is usually wanting in our large At- 
lantic cities. 

Mr. Ralston has great talent as an executive ; and, as 
he is seconded by a charming wife of cultivated taste, 
they find only pleasure in receiving their numerous 
friends, many of whom are introduced through Mr. 
Ralston's official connection with the Bank of California, 
which now has a credit the world over. A princely 
fortune is required to carry on such an establishment ; 
and to entertain so successfully requires, too, a talent 
for it. 

Six o'clock found us again in San Francisco, which 
to-morrow morning we are to leave on our homeward 
journey. Packing and arranging must be done at the 
cost of refusing no less than four invitations for dinner ; 
and, too, a good-by must be said to very dear friends 
whom we have found in this far-off city, and who are 
left with many regrets. 

To woman is given the art of jyaclcing, they say : of 
one thing I am sure, I never possessed it ; and, although 
a box full of tixqys has been sent by express, enough are 
left to fill a half-dozen portmanteaus like mine. Half 
the night was spent in devising means of getting my 
luggage into order; and, when the time came to start 



240 THE ATLANTIC 

for the train, I found myself surrounded by as many 
bundles as the housewife from the country has after 
she has spent a day in the city at spring-shopping. 

Some of our friends were kind enough to accompany 
us across the bay over to Oakland ; and, by the united 
efforts of all hands, all the bundles were safely deposited 
in the car which was to bear us away. 

A shrill whistle sounds ; " All aboard ! " is cried by 
the conductor; the bell upon the engine is ringing; 
and we are slowly. going out of the depot upon the long 
trestle-work which extends from the mainland far out 
into the bay. We are soon under full speed towards 
Sacramento. Having disposed of our traps, we look 
around to see if all our friends are here. Yes: there 
are Mr. and Mrs. Sickels, Grace Greenwood (j\Irs. Lip- 
pincott), Joaquin Miller the poet, and Mr. and Mrs. 
Darlington and niece of Pennsylvania. Our car is the 
directors' car of the Union Pacific Railroad ; and I will 
try to give you a notion of its plan. In the first place, 
it is very large and heavily built, probably weighing 
more than three ordinary passenger-cars. In one end 
is a complete kitchen, a range, racks for dishes, an ice- 
box, a sink, &c. ; next, and separated from the kitchen, 
are sections, two on each side, like the Pullman, which 
can be transformed into beds at night ; next — au other 
partition dividing, and occupying, say, one-third of the 



TO THE PACIFIC. 241 

car — is the drawing-room, dining-room, and by night 
a sleeping-room. An extension-table occupies one cor- 
ner; and on either side is a sofa; and a side-board 
upon each side of the door towards the kitchen, above 
each of which is placed a mirror. Beyond this is 
another room as large as the kitchen, where is placed 
the heating apparatus ; and on the side is a rack of six 
rifles, and drawers for ammunition — probably added as 
a defence against the Indians, — now only required for 
game of other sorts. There are small and well-ap- 
pointed toilet-rooms partitioned off; and all the sections 
are covered with a heavy Brussels carpet. The rear plat- 
form is surrounded by a railing, making it a safe place 
where to sit, and observe the country. At night the car 
is well lighted ; and the windows are double to keep out 
dust, as well as the cold. It rests on many springs ; 
and the trucks have six wheels each, so that ease and 
comfort are secured. Our stores are ample ; and Tom 
Cornish is to act as general manager, while Henry 
Eoure is to preside in the kitchen ; and, as they are well 
trained in the management of a hotel-car, no doubt we 
shall be well cared for. 

Before we reached Sacramento, we had our first meal 
in the car ; and the way Tom brought in the dishes, all 
well filled, would shame many a hotel which is not on 
wheels. It would be well for the landlords of sonae 

21 



242 THE ATLANTIC 

hotels where we have been quartered to travel on wheels 
a little, that they may see how the thing is done ; for it 
seems to me that a man, when he lias proven himself 
unfit for every other calling, when failure has overtaken 
him on every hand, as a dernier resort becomes either 
a minister or a tavern-keeper. Henry Ward Beecher 
of Brooklyn says there is a well-defined connection 
between a man's gastronomic apparatus and his reli- 
gious instincts ; and, as readers of " The Ledger " never 
doubt what the Plymouth divine says, we will grant its 
truth, and by it explain w^hy ministers love so well to 
attend tea-parties, why every modern church edifice is 
now supplied with a kitchen and cook-stove, and why a 
man who takes a final leap in business is as apt to min- 
ister to our physical as our moral wants. But hold on ! 
This sermon has already gone beyond the fashionable 
length ; and the preaching of long and solid sermons 
now-a-days is a sure way to bring a polite invitation to 
pack up your traps and seek a new flock " in pastures 
new." 

We are again in Sacramento, which has arisen from 
the devastation of floods and fires, and is to-day, 
probably, the handsomest city in the State. As all the 
railroad grandees live here, of course much has been 
done by them to make this a centre of various lines, 
and add material wealth to the city by the establish- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 243 

ment of the work-shops and car-shops of the Central 
Company. The streets are wide, the buildings in many 
instances very fine, the trees and herbage magnificent 
in the'ir almost tropical luxuriance ; and the energy 
and business enterprise of its citizens far surpass any 
other city. The capitol is to be a grand edifice, a pride 
of the whole State. A newness is apparent on every 
side, which is so in contrast with our New-England 
towns, that it is quite offensive to one who has always 
lived in the East. The city is growing yqyj fast both 
in population and wealth ; and none of those evidences 
of overgrowth are seen here, which are so lamentably 
shown in San Francisco. 

We push on ; and, just as darkness comes on, we pass 
around that point in the mountains called Cape Horn, 
and by a slow and toilsome climb reach the summit of 
the Sierras. Nothing of importance has occurred, save 
that we have got several hours behind our time by the 
burning of wood along the track, and are obliged to 
wait on side-tracks for trains " bound west.'^ Along our 
journey over the Central, we found no new interest, 
save to notice how successfully the trees and plants had 
been grown in the lands just about the stations in the 
great desert, which had been subjected to irrigation. 
Pacts and experience are fast proving, tliat the lands 
which a few years ago were thought entirely incapable 



244 THE ATLANTIC 

of cultivation can be made to grow many of the usual 
vegetable products of the West. There were some 
apple-trees which were growing very finely indeed. 

We also found good company in a Pullman on our 
train; and, if people who are travelling together will 
only try to make those about them happy, then a good 
time is assured. The second night on the road we 
arranged a little entertainment in our car, and invited 
the ladies and gentlemen from the other cars into our 
" improvised Music Hall." The exercises consisted prin- 
cipally of recitations, with delineations of the characters 
b}'- G-race Greenwood ; and the name assures the success 
of the renderings. The young ladies sang for us ; and 
we were all happy — for the time, at least. 

The next morning we reached Ogden, some four hours 
late. John W. Young (son of Brigham) gave us a 
polite invitation to visit Salt Lake City and to an ex- 
cursion on the lake ; but we were forced to decline the 
kind attentions, as we were anxious to reach Cheyenne. 

Here we again met Mr. K. D. Brown, who was at his 
post, giving to the many passengers the accommodations 
of the elegant Pullman cars, of which he is the popular 
agent. It requires some time to make up the train for 
the East, as all the baggage is changed, as well as the 
mails and express matter. It would seem that the cars 
ought to be run through ; but I am told that the dis- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 245 

tance is too great between Omaha and San Francisco 
to keep a car in continued motion. 

At last we are all ready, and we begin our journey on 
the Union Pacific. 
21* 



CHAPTER XXiy. 

The Building of the Central Pacific Raih'oad. — How the Union 
was built. — Comparison between the Two Roads. — The Sev- 
eral Surveys which have been made to determine Routes for a 
Railroad. 

In our last we finished our round trip over the Cen- 
tral Pacific ; and now let us tell the story of the build- 
ing of this road, and say a few words about its manage- 
ment. 

Those who have told this story heretofore have se- 
lected one of the few men who were the promoters of 
the enter^n-ise, and eulogized him, often to the disparage- 
ment of the others ; but I will try to do all justice, and 
state the part which each took in the great scheme, out 
of which was evolved the railroad, which, in its passage 
of the Sierras, stands to-day the triumph of engineering 
skill. 

Five men, entire strangers to the building of rail- 
roads, promulgated, fostered, and carried to a successful 
issue, this important enterprise. Stanford was the gov- 

246 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 247 

ernor of the State, but, before that, was a wholesale 
grocer ; the two Crockers were dealers in dry-goods ; and 
Huntington and Hopkins were hardware merchants. 
They all lived in Sacramento, then a small inland town, 
whicli had a precarious existence between fire and flood. 
In that city, at No. 54, K Street, may be seen to-day the 
sign " Huntington and Hopkins." It is a store for the 
sale of hardware, and the business is still pursued in 
about the same style as in the early days of the enter- 
prise. It was in a back-room of this store, where the 
gentlemen named used to meet to pass away their even- 
ings, that they organized their company. They early 
perceived the necessity for a road, talked it over night 
after night, till they became so " filled with the faith," 
that they, even though they had small means and few 
friends, thought they could build the road. They re- 
solved to act ; and they began in earnest, although upon 
a small scale, to develop a plan. The time of which we 
speak was 1856-58 ; and the road only existed in the 
dreams of these enthusiasts, who, in the far-off future, 
saw the iron-horse snorting over the snow-clad Sierra. 
Engineers of repute had said that the mountains could 
not be passed ; and, whenever a Pacific E-ailroad bill was 
presented to Congress, these reports were conned over ; 
and the very idea of a road amid these almost everlast- 
ing snows was ridiculed by " grave senators." 



248 THE ATLANTIC 

Probably what gave the greatest impetus to the 
enterprise was the bold assertions of the engineer 
Theodore Judah, who was engaged to build the 
Sacramento Valley Koad, and who was so earnest ij.. 
his declarations that a track could be laid across the 
mountains, that he was called '^ Pacific E-ailroad crazy." 
He at last so gained the confidence of the people direct- 
ly about him, that, by much solicitation, he received a 
subscription of fifty dollars to enable him to make a 
survey. This was the real beginning of the work. 
Having made a partial examination, he became more 
fully convinced of the correctness of his declaration; 
and, by a little more aid, he proceeded with his surveys, 
until he proclaimed, that, by way of " Dutch Flat," he 
had found a long and easy ascent of the mountains. 
He called public meetings of citizens of the mining 
villages along the route ; and gradual]}^ the inhabitants 
became convinced of the practicability of the road, 
although the scheme seemed so unlikely of success, that 
all the banks and bankers, as well as the moneyed men, 
kept aloof from it; for they had little faith in the 
"Dutch Flat Swindle," as it was called, the five men 
first mentioned being about the only ones who were 
ready to give their money, and stake their fortunes, in 
the enterprise. 

We can imagine all kinds of difficulties to be met and 



TO THE PACIFIC. 249 

overcome ; and by no means the least was the ridicule 
heaped upon the enterprise, especially by the bankers. 
In the city of San Francisco there was not a dollar 
raised; and the great express company (Wells, Fargo, 
and Company), tlie steamship lines, all the various stage- 
lines and river-steamer companies, vied with each other 
in their opposition to building a railroad. The laws of 
the State of California, under which any company must 
act, were very illiberal towards corporations and the stock- 
holders ; and the people stood aloof from the scheme, 
leaving a few bold spirits to work out the problem, and 
reap the rewards which have followed from the comple- 
tion of the line, — large, surely, but only just. 

Another turning-point in the life of the enterprise 
was when, at a meeting of gentlemen at Gov. Stan- 
ford's house in 1860, after much and earnest discus- 
sion, and all seemed upon the point of flagging, Mr. 
Huntington arose, and said, '^ I will be one of eight or 
ten to carry out this scheme." New life was infused ; 
new purposes were awakened ; and seven bold spirits put 
their names to a compact to pay all expenses for three 
years, to complete surveys, estimates, plans, &c. 

Of these seven, Judah, who had been the prophet 
sent from afar to show the people of California the ivay 
over their mountains towards the Atlantic, had no 
money, and soon afterwards died. To Judah must be 



250 THE ATLANTIC 

awarded much praise ; for it was a bold spirit which 
could, in the face of such ridicule, still proclaim what to 
him seemed not only possible, but easy of accomplish- 
ment. He was a pioneer ; a mind which perceived be- 
fore others ; one who lived outside of the circumstances 
which surrounded him. He took a grand step forward 
in railroad engineering, like Brunei in steamships, or 
Lesseps in canals. Another of the little band became 
disheartened, and fell by the way ; leaving only the five 
whom I have mentioned, — Stanford, Huntington, Hop- 
kins, and the two Crockers. 

They organized their company with the first-named 
as president, the second as vice-president, and the 
third as secretary and treasurer, — positions which they 
still hold, and, with marked ability, manage the affairs of 
the company. This was in 1870. The passage of the 
Pacific Eailroad Bill by Congress gave this little com- 
pany an assured life ; and each fell naturally to work 
in his particular sphere. 

The usual fortune of railroad enterprises was appar- 
ent : they resolved to reap themselves the advantages of 
their early planning and patient toil. 

They established their offices at 54 K Street, where 
they are to-day, and began work in detail, considering 
well each step, and surmounting the difficulties as they 
arose. Stanford — full of genuine good sense, a man of 



TO THE PACIFIC. 251 

vigor and determination — was at the head, and did val- 
iant service in the State. Hopkins — the man of figures 
and calculations, who had made his business successful by 
calculating every cost — now applied the same careful 
calculations to this hirger scheme; and Huntington — 
intrepid, with innate honesty, of good address — went 
to Washington, New York, and other cities, to negotiate 
bonds, buy material, and make the people of the East 
know that the road was to he built, and that they must 
lend their money to do it. He succeeded ; and, for mate- 
rials for construction, he exchanged bonds, which were 
guaranteed by the personal indorsements of the pro- 
moters of this grand, yet, at this time, hazardous enter- 
prise. All the iron, and a large portion of all the mate- 
rial, had to be brought from the Atlantic cities, around 
Cape Horn, by a long and tedious voyage ; the prices 
were fluctuating by the war ; the bonds which the gov- 
ernment issued to them fell to a low figure in gold ; and 
thus circumstances seemed to frown upon this plan for 
a railroad over the mountains which should serve to 
supply a new trade which had arisen between Sacra- 
mento and Nevada, as well as for a link in a grand 
trans-continental line. 

Several times their money was all used up ; and then 
individual pluck was shown, and a few men were paid 
by each : and so the work was kept on. Each contract 



252 THE ATLANTIC 

was looked to closely, and its terms were scanned ; for 
these men were daily pledging every dollar tliey were 
worthj as well as their honor and reputation. These 
facts I state thus minutely, that they may be compared 
with the circumstances attending the building of the 
other road which forms the Pacific line. Many were 
the obstacles which they encountered ; and much credit 
is due to Grey and Montague, the engineers, who made 
the plan, and laid the grades, as well as found the way 
to take huge locomotives over the mountains by ox- 
teams, and could make a road-bed with snow-banks 
from ten to twenty feet deep around them. Upon the 
Alkali Plains they were obliged to bring water and fuel 
many miles ; and to find men to do all this work, Chi- 
nese were brought over, and, to the number of several 
thousand, lent their toil to this great undertaking. 

The Central Company, of course, as they made suc- 
cess sure, found many friends ; and, after all the great 
difficulties were passed, many there were who were 
ready with mone}^ to aid them. This company pushed 
east as far as it could, and, as it approached the west- 
ward-marching line of the Union, shot by it, on towards 
the Atlantic ; and here came a warfare to determine 
where the two roads should meet. Congress had to 
interfere, and fix Ogden as the place of union. At 
liMigth the year 1869 saw the road completed. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 253 

The Central Company are now the owners of the 
whole railroad system of California, and are pushing 
their lines in all directions. 

The California and Oregon line is being pushed north 
through the great Sacramento Valley, around Mt. 
Shasta, on towards Portland, there to join the railroad 
system of Oregon. To the south, through the Santa 
Clara and San Joaquin Valleys, they have the Southern 
Pacific, which is to reach Los Angeles, and thence on to 
the Colorado River. The California Pacific has pierced 
the Napa IST alley ; and the Copperopolis Road is pushing 
east towards the mountains. 

In the prosecution of these various enterprises, the 
company is spending some half-million of dollars per 
month; and the whole machinery of this vast corpora-' 
tion is so nicely adjusted, and works so smoothly, that 
all these plans are being successfully carried out at 
once. Montague is still the chief engineer ; Grey has 
charge of the Southern Pacific ; while the same officers 
who were long ago first elected to their positions retain 
their places. Mr. Towne, the general superintendent, 
is a gentleman who admirably fills his place, — one of 
the most responsible and important of the many. 

I was told that the company had in its employ within 

the State of California over seven tliousand men, which 

seemed at first a large number ; but when we consider 
22 



254 THE ATLANTIC 

how many lines of road are under construction, and how 
vast is the business of the through line, we are not so 
surprised. The road-bed is in good order ; the snow- 
sheds are all permanent structures ; the rolling-stock is 
of a fair grade, but not as comfortable as the Union 
Pacific ; and what was painfully noticeable was, that the 
conductors were not so obliging and gentlemanly as 
they should have been. An air of arrogance was shown, 
which seemed to say, " that, until a southern road is 
built, this is the only train for San Francisco ; and we 
graciously allow you to ride in our cars." Competition 
will no doubt remedy this, but it is an evil which should 
sooner be removed ; for some day in this country, as it 
has been in England, it will be decided that railroads 
are to be run for the lyiiblic, and for their benefit and 
accommodation. Corporations and monopolies, cliques 
and combinations, may, for a time, oppress and hinder 
the people ; but there always comes a day when tlie pub- 
lic assert, and, asserting, maintain, their rights. 

So far as economical and successful management goes, 
this company stands a salient example in the history of 
American railroad enterprises. With the increase of 
business and resources, the company must study how to 
serve the public, in giving them every accommodation 
which can be had, and looking well to the character of 
their officers, who are brought into direct relation with 
the travelling public, their patrons. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 255 

As we were nearing the borders of Salt Lake, Mr. 
Sickels took pains to point out for us the bounds which 
marked the ten miles of track, which, in April, 1869, 
were laid in one day, — a fact which he witnessed, and 
which must, for a long time, stand unrivalled in railroad 
building. 

As we leave Ogden, we begin our journey upon the 

UNION PACIFIC, 

whose history lacks all romance, and is only distin- 
guished in the vastness of the schemes for plunder of 
the public treasury. 

To the preparation of a description of the modus 
operandi of the building of this road, I had given 
much labor, and I thought it the best part of all I had 
written ; but, just as it was finished, a quarrel occurred 
in that "family" which for many years has controlled the 
government in legislative as well as in executive depart- 
ments ; and, as is always the case, all the secrets have 
been let out. Between them, the Credit Mobilier, 
the bonds, the Government freights, &c., have all 
been so plainly demonstrated, and by so many abler 
pens, that I must decline to add my contribution to this 
already overcrowded department of political literature. 
Sufiace it to say, that the road was completed long before 



256 THE ATLANTIC 

any one save G. F. Train (the " inspired idiot," they 
say out West) predicted. For this time, sure, Train 
was right ; and he, better than those around him, counted 
the pluck, the energy, and the go-aheadativeness of the 
Americans. The celebration upon the completion of 
the trans-continental line, by the laying of the last 
rail, and the driving of the last spike, took place at 
Promontory, a few miles west of the present junc- 
tion. Although the building of this road (the 
Union) was an easy task for the officers in charge, 
with their unbounded means, and they within a few 
hours of Washington, where they had the influence 
of the government, with materials of all kinds more 
readily obtained than on the line of the Central, still 
all was not sunshine to some of the projectors, who put 
their fortune into the enterprise in good faith, and at 
last found themselves pecuniarily crippled by it. 

In riding over the road, we were struck with the 
seemingly unnecessary turns and twists upon some of 
the plains, where a straight course could have been 
taken. An engineer who laid many of these grades 
told me, that, in many places, the line might have been 
shortened. At least one is forced to the conclusion 
that the road was built upon the principle that " one 
good turn deserves another ; " for, if there was a neces- 
sary curve, another was made, even if of no seeming 



TO THE PACIFIC. 257 

use. Witli the large amount in bonds and lands which 
the government gave this company^ it is not surprising 
that they should make the road-bed as long as conve- 
nience would allow; and, if the recent disclosures (as 
they are called) are true, then conscience was lacking 
in the management of the affairs of this company dur- 
ing a part of its history. 

In returning over the road, we were struck with its 
smoothness; and the vast amount of work which had 
been done since spring was apparent. The rolling- 
stock is in good order ; and the cars are far more com- 
fortable than those on the Central Road. The depots 
and station-buildings are commodious ; and, in some 
instances, they seemed to be built upon expectation of 
what will be required. We, of course, should expect 
many blunders to have been made, the wrong locations 
selected for repair-shops and round-houses, sidings not 
where they should be, &c. ; but, upon the whole, we are 
surprised and amazed that the work could have been 
done so nearly right for the requirements of the road. 
I will not name the officers of the road; for so many 
interests have, for a time, controlled each in turn, that 
no consistent policy could be pursued. 

The snow blockade last winter caused serious trouble ; 
but the almost incredible exertions of Superintendent 
Sickels and his assistants saved the lives of those on the 

22* 



258 THE ATLANTIC 

trains, and so supplied the passengers that they suffered 
only delay. By many who were in the snow-bound 
trains, I was assured of this fact : so that the stories 
which found their way into Eastern newspapers were 
without foundation. The winter was exceptional ; and, 
if there had been only snow on the track, they could 
have cleared it away : but the snow and sleet together 
formed a mass which was nearly as solid as ice, weigh- 
ing, in many places, thirty-six pounds to the cubic foot, — 
a mass against which the powerful engines contended in 
vain. The officers of the road assure me that they will 
this year be fully prepared to contend with the snows, 
and that, by the experience of last winter, they have 
learned many lessons which will profit them. 

Mr. T. E. Sickels, who built the great Missouri Bridge, 
is the general superintendent of the company. As 
soon as he took charge of the road, he began to make 
changes looking toward the more economical running of 
the road, and completing connecting lines, which will 
bring new and more extensive business to the company. 
With great judgment he laid his plans, which are now 
being carried out; and feeders are already pushing from 
the main line into the rich mining and farming sections 
which lie just off the road. In every dej)artment he 
has reduced the expenses to the minimum ; and the sav- 
ings which one year's administration shows, were aston- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 259 

ishing, as well as gratifying. The stockholders and 
bondholders are now assured that their money will be 
judiciously expended, and that the work of construction 
will be done in a skilful manner. 

Thus it is now; but then we must remember the dan- 
ger which always exists of the change of administra- 
tion, and the bringing-in of new interests. 

We were very agreeably surprised at the uniform 
courtesy and kindness of the conductors and their men ; 
and, from lady-passengers especially, I heard remarks of 
admiration of the gentlemen who passed through the 
trains, as well to see that all were comfortable as to col- 
lect tickets. 

Now that I have spoken of the good points, let me 
remark some of the failings. In the first place, some 
arrangement must be made to check the baggage 
through from Chicago to San Francisco. We Americans 
demand that the companies look out for oar baggage. 
In England your baggage is never checked : such a 
thing is unknown. There you place your portmanteau 
in a car which they call the luggage-van ; and, when you 
arrive at your destination, it is thrown out, and you 
must " go for it," or some one else loill. An English 
matron who was travelling on our train over the Union 
Pacific remarked our system of checks for baggage as 
one of the greatest conveniences, and our cars (when 



260 THE ATLANTIC 

she became accustomed to tliem) she thought she would 
like better than the English. She remarked, " I like 
your way of sending luggage in America ; for at home 
one has to be right smart to get his own luggage." I 
state this incident to show how mucb ive demand. 

Next, the inconvenience of dealing with that Trans- 
fer Company must be eliminated, as we should say in 
algebra. The passage of that treacherous stream, the 
Missouri, caused more hard words to be spoken than 
can be erased from the big hook for many a day. If 
in the ledger they have all been carried to the ac- 
count of the Union Pacific, then they ought to be 
pitied. Perhaps they knoiu that " corporations have 
no souls : " hence their freedom from all uneasiness on 
this score. 

Some of the proprietors of the eating-stations 
ought to be promoted to higher callings ; for tliey are 
evidently above running a hotel. The best table was 
found at Evanston ; and it was kept by a colored man, 
named Howard W. Crossley, whose evident desire was 
to please all; and the lady-like bearing of his wife, 
"who takes the money," gained for them many friends 
among the passengers. The next were the tables set 
by the Messrs. Eumsig at Laramie City and Sidney ; 
and the poorest at — well, go over the road yourself, and. 
if you don't find poor enough, then wait till we have 



TO THE PACIFIC. 261 

that " new hotel " in Providence, and you can know its 
difference by a comparison. 

The Union Pacific Company own a hundred and 
forty-nine powerful locomotives^ forty passenger-cars, 
and some two thousand freight-cars, the number of 
which is being increased as business demands. In every 
passenger-train which is made up to run through, there 
are from two to four "Pullmans," which relieves the 
company from owning a larger number of passenger- 
cars. 

Daily new discoveries of resources are made along 
the line : coal and iron exist in great abundance, and 
useful minerals in large quantities. The great variety 
and extent of these discoveries is a subject of wonder, 
even to those who have often passed over the road ; and a 
few years will, no doubt, witness developments of natu- 
ral resources which will astound the world. 

Like poor Judali, I have considered this subject so 
much, that I have almost become "Pacific-railroad cra- 
zy ; ''" and, to free my mind of its burden, I will add, by 
way of recalling the history of this " grand thought " of 
laying a track across the continent, a list of the different 
surveys which were made for a route, but none of which 
were followed as the exact line. These surveys fur- 
nished the groundwork of all the plans, and were the 
means through which we became acquainted with our 
" western country." 



262 THE ATLANTIC 

Mr. Asa Whitney was tlie first man to call public at- 
tention to a railroad to connect the Mississippi witJi the 
Pacific Ocean. Between the years 1846-50 he ad- 
dressed meetings of citizens, sent memorials to State 
legislatures, and petitioned Congress. The first plan 
was to begin at Prairie du Chien on the great river, cross 
the Kocky Mountains by South Pass, and reach the 
ocean at Vancouver's Sound. The first incentive for 
the road was, of course, to furnish the government with 
transportation ; next to make a highway for Asiatic 
commerce. The rapid settlement of California furnished 
another strong argument in 1850 and succeeding years. 
Benton of Missouri was a zealous advocate of the 
scheme, both iu the Senate and before the people. After 
much labor and many defeats, the friends of a railroad 
obtained, in March, 1853, an appropriation of a hundred 
and fifty tliousand dollars to defray the expenses of sur- 
veys ; and accordingly six companies were formed, and 
began the work. As from these exploring parties all 
the information was obtained upon which all future 
plans were matured, it is well to recall the routes taken 
by each, and note the results attained. In the thirteen 
quarto volumes published by Congress, all the reports 
are found, and elaborate illustrations of scenery, flora, 
and animals. With these many are familiar; and, if 
any of my readers have not examined them, they will 



TO THE PACIFIC. 263 

be amply repaid for the trouble and time. Most public 
libraries have them. 

"The first expedition was led by Gov. Isaac I. Stevens, 
formerly of the army, on the line of the forty-seventh 
and forty-ninth parallels of north latitude. It consisted 
of four separate parties. One, under Gov. Stevens's per- 
sonal supervision, penetrated from St. Paul westward 
toward the mouth of White Earth Kiver, thence, by the 
prairies lying along the Missouri River, to the Rocky 
Mountains, and among the passes of that region. An- 
other, under Capt. McCIellaD, U.S.A., began at Fort 
Vancouver on the Columbia, explored to the north-east- 
ward, examining the passes of the Cascade Range, and 
then eastward to join Gov. Stevens. Another party, 
under Lieut. Donalson, U.S.A., examined the Missouri 
from its mouth to the Yellowstone, where a junction 
was made with that under Gov. Stevens. The fourth 
party, under Lieut. Saxton, U.S.A., conducted a recon- 
noissance from Fort Walla-Walla to the Bitter Root 
Valley. The second expedition was on the line of the 
thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth parallels, and was com- 
manded by Capt. Gunnison, U.S.A. It started from 
Westport, Mo., and followed the valleys of the Kansas 
and Arkansas Rivers to the Rocky Mountains. After 
carefully exploring the savage region between the San- 
gre del Cristo Pass and Sevier Lake, a portion of the 



264 THE ATLANTIC 

party, including Capt. Gunnison, was massacred by 
Indians. The command devolved upon Lieut. Beckwith, 
who proceeded to Salt Lake City, where lie received in- 
structions to extend the exploration westward upon the 
line of the forty-first parallel. This he did in the fol- 
lowing spring, crossing the Sierra Nevadas near Fort 
E-eading, and thence following the valley of the Sacra- 
mento to San Francisco. The third expedition, com- 
manded by Capt. Whipple, U.S.A., was on the line of 
the thirty-fifth parallel. It started from Fort Smith, 
and took the route by the valley of the Canadian River 
and Auton Chico to Albuquerque : tlience it proceeded 
westward by Zuni, the valley of the Colorado Chiquito, 
the valley of Bill William's Fork, the valley of the Mo- 
have and the Cajon Pass, to San Pedro on the Pacific. 
The fourth expedition, under Lieut. Williamson, U.S.A., 
was fitted out at San Francisco, and, passing up the San 
Joaquin and Tulare Valley, explored tlie region about 
Walker's, the Tejon and other passes, and portions of 
the Mohave and Colorado Rivers. The fifth expedition 
was over the western half of the line of the thirtj'^-sec- 
ond parallel, and was commanded by Lieut. Parke, 
U.S.A., who was detached from Lieut. Williamson's 
party for the purpose. It proceeded by way of Warner's 
rancho to Fort Yuma, and up the Gila to the Pimo and 
Maricopa villages, tlience by way of Tucson and Dona 



TO THE PACIFIC. 265 

Anato El Paso. The sixth expedition was on the east- 
ern half of the line of the thirty-second parallel, and 
was commanded by Capt. Pope, U.S.A. It started from 
El Paso, and proceeded in almost a straight line east- 
ward to Preston, on Red Piver, passing through Guada- 
loupe Mountains, crossing the Pecos at the mouth of 
Delaware Creek, and traversing the Llano Estacado for 
a distance of a hundred and twenty-five miles." 

These explorations fully demonstrated the practica- 
bility of a road, save over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 
Additional appropriations were urged ; and in 1854 a 
hundred and ninety thousand dollars were voted. Other 
parties were organized ; and two of them more fully 
explored the Sierra and Coast ranges, while the third 
examined the means of obtaining water for railroad 
purposes. 

However unsatisfactory these various reports were in 
details, they furnished the ground-work upon which to 
build the plans which were to be matured, and after- 
wards carried to a successful completion, — the union of 
the Atlantic and the Pacific by a band of iron, over 
which the locomotive should whirl, carrying along its 
precious freights. 

The road has become an accomplished fact; and 
amid our many new enterprises, our politics, the devel- 
opment of our national resources, and the incidents of 

23 



266 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

every-day life, its magnitude and importance have been 
lost sight of. 

Erom this distance of time we can contemplate it, and 
with profit again recall its grandeur and importance. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Omaha at Second Sight, — The Missouri River. — Council Bluffs. 

Our journey over the Union Pacific was interrupted 
by our trip through Colorado. In our last, we were just 
leaving Ogden ; and from here to Cheyenne we travelled 
without any thing of interest occurring. The grandeur 
of the scenery through Echo and Weber Canons was 
made more impressive by another view ; and some new 
features were brought to notice. At Cheyenne, the Den- 
ver Pacific unites with the Union Pacific, and is the 
great highway from the line across the continent down 
to Denver, the thriving capital of Colorado. 

As there is little of interest in the road between 
Cheyenne and Omaha, and as we propose to add a sepa- 
rate chapter on our visit to Colorado, we will hurry on to 
that city, which forms the eastern terminus of the 
Union Pacific; and I will add now something more of 
Omaha, and her not much loved sister Council Bluffs, 

which lies across the river. 

26r 



268 THE ATLANTIC 

My impressions as given in a former chapter were any- 
thing but pleasing : so, upon reaching this city Friday 
afternoon (July 5, 1872), we took lodgings at the Met- 
ropolitan Hotel, on Douglas Street, determined to know 
more of the city. So we strolled around, and surveyed 
the town. Its streets are broad, laid out at right angles ; 
and the ground rises from the river in such pretty un- 
dulations, that the location could not be bettered in 
many a mile around. There are some very fine brick 
structures already erected, several business-blocks, the 
new Grand Central Hotel, and the High-school building 
on Capitol Hill. The latter, when completed, will be 
one of the finest compositions in brick that I have seen 
in the West. The hotel building is creditable, but would 
seem more in place in Boston or Providence than in this 
little place. Already three hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars have been expended upon it, — a sad financial 
failure. As you pass around the town, every thing 
bears the marks of " death by overgrowth." At one 
time the place seemed to many to be destined to be- 
come a city of great importance : so real estate reached 
fabulous figures, and improvements upon a grand scale 
were begun, only to be abandoned for the lack of funds. 
George Francis Train, who now resides at the Tombs, 
early took up his abode here, and harangued and shout- 
ed, until he thought he owned all the land in the city; 



TO THE PACIFIC. 269 

and the people were, in their infatuation, thoroughly 
imbued with his wild schemes. I am informed he 
he never owned a foot of land in Omaha. 

Now every thing is under a cloud, and the people 
seem disheartened. True, the Union Pacific officers are 
here, and their shops and depots ; the great iron bridge 
crosses the river at this point : but all these fail to give 
to the city any air of business-life. The town is said to 
contain at present fifteen thousand; but I am afraid 
they count in the lamp-posts and trees. A ride 
through the city gives some pleasing views, and out to 
Camp Douglas shows you a very rich farming-country 
and some pleasant-looking homes. We are Tinder obli- 
gations to Dr. Sisson, formerly of New Bedford, for a 
long ride through the city and country. 

Superintendent Sickels gave us the use of a desk in 
his private office, and made our stay very pleasant: 
otherwise, we know we should not have been willing to 
have remained more than one day in this " mushroom 
town." 

They have here such thunder and lightning as we 

are not accustomed to at home. Monday morning, 

about three o'clock, we were awakened by the most 

deafening thunder, and the greatest display of lightning 

flashes we had ever been treated to : not in one part of 

the heavens, but from horizon to zenith, it was one lurid 
23* 



270 THE ATLANTIC 

flame. The rain poured in torrents for more than an 
hour, and streets and squares were flooded. 

The morning seemed as sultry as before the shower, 
and the mud — oh the mud! We thought it a great 
storm ; hut Mr. Boyd, clerk of the hotel, called it only a 
"baby-shower," and assured us that we ought to he 
here sometimes to know what a thunder-shower is. I 
was aware that they had every thing upon a large scale 
in Omaha, but was not aware, till now, that they could 
boast this " the most thundering city upon the globe." 

I once heard two gentlemen — one from New York, 
and one from Philadel^jhia — praising each the advan- 
tages of their cities ; and, after exhausting all arguments, 
the Philadelphian retorted, " Look here ! Now, I would 
rather be a lamp-post in Philadelphia than an alder- 
man in New York." So for me, I had rather be almost 
any thing in an Eastern town than a citizen of Omaha. 

THE EIVER. 

The Missouri flows by the city, but is of little service 
as a highway of commerce. I can describe its waters 
only by comparison with the dirtiest mud-puddle 
which you ever saw in an Eastern city, and then ima- 
gine one a great deal more muddy. It is a capricious 
stream, changing its channel so often, that it has be- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 271 

come a saying, that you never know where to find it in 
the morning ; and this, and the change in the depth of 
water, causes the ferry and steamboats (of which I have 
seen two in the river) to change their moorings daily. 
As there are no wharves, they run the boats high and 
dry upon the banks for the purpose of landing freight 
and passengers, — not a pleasant way for passengers, 
but, no doubt, economical for the steamers. Owing to 
the late spring, the water is to-day (July 8) thirteen 
feet above usual low-water mark. 

This river is navigable more than two thousand miles 
above this city at the high stages of water ; but the rail- 
roads are fast taking the place of river service ; and a 
few years more will see the steamers on the upper 
waters entirely withdrawn. 

But one ought not to leave this vicinity until he has 
visited the city of 

COUNCIL BLUFFS. 

By a buss, a slow ferry-boat, and a horse-car, in two 
hours we made four miles from Omaha to the Ogden 
House in the Bluff City, as it is called. 

There are two good houses here, — the Ogden and the 
Pacific, the latter of which is by far more centrally 
located : indeed, one is at a loss to understand why the 
Ogden was placed so far away from the business-por- 



272 THE ATLANTIC 

tion of the city. It seems to be, like a great many 
other houses, a good phice for a man to go his "bottom 
dollar" (as they would say here) in his eagerness to 
serve the public in keeping a hotel. 

The main portion of this city is built upon the low 
lands bordering the river ; but the prettier residences 
are located in the shady " glens " (as they are called) 
which lie among the hills which rise to the back of the 
city. 'Little now remains of the Mormon settlement 
here, — probably onlj'- a single log-house of the early 
settlement. The city has moved about a mile to the 
west of the old town. 

The city, like its sister upon the opposite bank of 
the "treacherous Missouri," looks very dull; and all 
whom you meet complain of hai^d times. The city is 
situated some two or three miles back from the river, 
which relieves it from the sight of "that muddy stream." 

Gen. Dodge makes this city his home ; and many 
well-to-do families have located here, at what has be- 
come within a few years, by the building of the great 
Union Pacific Railroad, the doorway to the Great West. 
The three great roads from Chicago all finding their 
western terminus here, and being the point of transfer 
to the "bridge-train," makes the town an important 
railroad centre. 

The quarrel which has existed ever since the com- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 273 

pletion of the bridge, between tlie two cities, has 
greatly injured each ; and it would be better for those 
having the power to at once locate the depots than to 
have the matter left in uncertainty longer. Hearing 
the claims of persons representing each city, you fail 
to see the cogency of their reasoning, or the grounds 
upon which they make their demands. The two cities 
ought to unite for a common good ; for, so long as the 
quarrel continues, the travelling public are necessarily 
the sufferers. 

We are now a little more than half-way home ; but 
still the journey east of here is made so rapidly, and 
the country is so well settled, that it seems to be much 
shorter. At Chicago we shall feel very near to the 
Atlantic. A day spent in each of the rival cities will 
amply repay the tourist who seeks to observe the 
peculiarities of the towns and cities which he may 
chance to visit ; for here are two communities so dis- 
similar, yet so near together, — Omaha, the seat of 
Douglas County, the eastern city of Nebraska, and 
Council Bluffs, the seat of Pottawatomie County, and 
the western city of the great State of Iowa. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

The Great Bridge over the Missouri. — The Transfer Company. 

In this chapter I will describe that beautiful structure 
which spans the Missouri River. The facts were ob- 
tained from T. E. Sickels, Esq., the engineer under 
whose direction the bridge has been built. In this one 
particular, both the cities of Council Bluffs and Omaha 
can be proud, and join hands in toasting the 

MISSOURI RIVER BRIDGE, 

one of the finest in the world. Although erected upon 

principles heretofore employed, still, in the details, it has 

some peculiarities ; and the whole structure has a grace 

and lightness, without the want of seeming strength, 

seldom seen in bridges of this class. The plans were 

recommended by Gen. Dodge, former chief engineer of 

the road ; but the bridge has been erected under the 

direction of Mr. T. E. Sickels since his election to that 

position. To him, therefore, belongs the honor of hav- 
274 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 275 

ing erected the bridge, making it a success in every 
way, and that, too, at a saving of more than a hun- 
dred thousand dollars from its estimated cost. The 
bridge will stand as a noble monument of engineering 
skill, and a source of just pride not only to the company, 
but also to the numerous friends of the engineer. 

The plan of the bridge adopted by the company com- 
prises eleven entirely distinct spans of iron superstruc- 
ture (each span two hundred and fifty feet in length), 
elevated fifty feet above high water, and supported on 
three stone masonry abutments and eleven piers, formed 
of cast iron columns eight feet and a half in diameter, 
filled with cement masonr}^ The foundations of the 
abutments and the piers extend to the bed-rock under- 
lying the sand, which is found at an average depth of 
sixty feet below low water in the river. Each span has 
a play of two inches and a half for expansion and con- 
traction. The original plan has been so modified as to 
provide for the use of the bridge for highway travel on 
the same level with the track of the railway ; and 
wrought iron has been substituted for cast iron, in the 
columns, above high water. 

■ In September, 1868, a contract was made for sinking 
the iron columns ; and the work was begun in February, 
1869 : but, for various causes, the work was delayed, and 
afterwards entirely suspended until April, 1871, when 



276 THE ATLANTIC 

work was again commenced, which has been prosecuted 
since with great vigor ; and, aided by the long continu- 
ance of the ice last winter, the bridge was completed 
sooner than was anticipated. The frozen river fur- 
nished a secure foundation for the transportation of the 
heavy iron work and for the erection of the "false work," 
as it is termed, which holds in place the iron work until 
it is fastened securely. The superstructure is of the plan 
known as " Post's truss," and is made of wrought iron. 

Those portions of the iron columns below water were 
cast in sections of ten feet each, having internal flanges 
at the ends ; and, by means of bolts passing through 
them, the sections were securely fastened together. The 
ends of the sections were faced off in a lathe ; and a red 
lead joint was used to make them air-tight. The 
wrought-iron portion of the column (above high water) 
is also in sections of ten feet, the sections being fas- 
tened together with rivets. The thickness of the iron 
in this portion varies from half an inch at the bottom 
to three-eighths of an inch at the top. The thickness 
of the cast-iron portion is an inch and a half. 

The columns were first sunk as far as possible by the 
application to the top of the column of a weight connected 
with a lever. The water was then expelled from within 
the column by tlie pressure of air forced in by a steam 
air-pump ; and the sand within was excavated by labor- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 277 

ers down to about two feet below the bottom of the col- 
umn, and taken out in small bags or buckets at the top. 
The air pressure was then withdrawn, and the column 
sank a distance varying from six inches to eighteen feet 
and a half, according to the character of the materials 
through which the column was passing. The latter dis- 
tance was the greatest descent made by any column in 
twenty-four consecutive hours. 

This process of sinking iron columns is similar to that 
which has been largely used in Europe and India for 
like purposes, and for a few bridges in this country. By 
no other known method can subaqueous foundations be 
obtained with equal certainty and economy, where the 
depth necessary to secure stability is very considerable. 

The system is especially applicable to the construction 
of foundations for bridges across rivers like the Mis- 
souri, where the river-bed is composed chiefly of sand, 
and is liable to scour to depths of fifty or sixty feet. In 
the process of excavating sand from within the columns, 
lignite rotten wood, and bones of animals, were found at 
the depth of fifty feet below water, showing that the 
river-bed has been scoured to that extent at least. 

The upper surface of the rock, in every case where the 
columns reached it, was found to be worn smooth, pre- 
senting an appearance very similar to the effect ji re- 
duced on rock by the attrition of sand under great pres- 
24 



278 THE ATLANTIC 

sure. For greater security, the rock at the base of the 
cohimus was in every instance excavated to form a 
recess into which the column was sunk, whereby any 
horizontal motion of the base of the columns is effec- 
tually prevented. 

The difficulties which were anticipated in sinking the 
columns were surmounted as fast as they arose, so that 
the work was in no wise delayed. Mr. Sickels was aided 
by his brother, Mr. Frederick E. Sickels of '' cut-off'' 
fame, whose extensive knowledge of mechanical science, 
and its practice, was ever ready, not only to find a way, 
but, in many instances, to suggest 7ieiv and better ways, 
of accomplishing the same results : so that the cost was 
much lessened, while the work was expedited. In 
seven days, one of the columns was sunk to its rock-bed 
at a depth of seventy-two feet ; the greatest depth to 
which either of the eleven columns was sunk being 
eighty-two feet. 

The greatest pressure to which the men working in 
the columns were subjected was fifty-four pounds per 
square inch in excess of the atmosphere ; yet from this 
extreme pressure, which is beyond precedent in works of 
this character, no injury or inconvenience resulted to 
the laborers. 

The bridge operations have, fortunately, been free from 
serious accidents to life or property. It was appre-' 



TO THE PACIFIC. 279 

h ended that tlie exposure of the laborers in the iron 
cohimns to an atmosphere condensed to three times its 
normal pressure might produce paralysis too severe, in 
some cases, to yield to medical treatment ; but experi- 
ence has proved that injuries to persons are not neces- 
sarily more frequent in the prosecution of work of this 
peculiar character than in works of a diiferent descrip- 
tion, but of like magnitude. 

There have been employed in all some five hundred 
men, two hundred and fifty being the average number ; 
and ten steam-engines have been required for hoisting, 
excavating, driving air-pumps, &c. 

To connect the bridge with the main track of the 
railroad on the west side of the river, a branch line of 
road seven thousand feet in length has been con- 
structed. From the river bluff to the west abutment, 
a distance of seven hundred feet, a timber trestle-bridge, 
sixty feet in height, has been built, around the timbers 
of which dirt is being filled as fast as possible : so that, 
in a short time, a handsomely-formed embankment will 
be made, which, on the river-end, is faced by a stone- 
wall for some fifteen feet up the side. 

The east approach will be by a continuous grade a 
mile and a half in length, commencing on the Council 
Bluffs table-land, and ascendiiif, at the rate of thirty-five 
feet to the mile, to the east end of the iron bridge. The 



280 THE ATLANTIC 

total quantity of embankment in. this approach is five 
hundred and fifty thousand cubic yards, which is now 
almost completed. 

The weight of the superstructure is a ton per lineal 
foot ; and it is capable of sustaining a weight of ten 
tons to the foot, in addition to its own weight; but it is 
not intended that a greater load than two tons to the 
foot shall at any time be brought upon it. A train of 
the heaviest locomotives would weigh about a ton and a 
half to the lineal foot. 

Each wrought-iron piece of the superstructure was 
tested with a tensile strain of five tons to the square 
inch of sectional area, before being accepted ; and this 
strain is as great as any portion of the bridge will be 
required to endure under a load of two tons to the lineal 
foot. 

The total cost of the bridge has been, in round num- 
bers, a million and three-quarters of dollars; and, 
although trains have been running over it since spring, 
still the work goes on. It is hoped that a few months 
will see the structure entirely completed in every detail. 

This bridge seemed to be, after all, the link which was 
to complete the chain binding together the oceans. 
Even after the rails were joined at Promontory, still 
the treacherous Missouri had to be passed in a ferry, 
which had more uncertain ways than the old ferry on 



TO THE PACIFIC. 281 

the Connecticut Eiver at Lyme. Now the passage is 
made in the cars of the Transfer Company. 

The Transfer Company was formed for the purpose 
of transporting passengers and merchandise across the 
bridge. This has caused a great deal of trouble, espe- 
cially to shippers ; as, for a long time, all freights had to 
be unloaded from the Eastern cars, and then repacked. 
ISTow, by an agreement, and the payment of a sum stipu- 
lated to the Transfer Company, freight is taken to the 
Far AVest without breaking bulk. All the trouble and 
anxiety which these two rival towns have had about 
the terminus of the Union Pacific does not in any 
wise affect the facts ; for, look at the case as you will, 
the natural and almost necessar}^ terminus of the Union 
Pacific K-oad is at Omaha, where must be, as now, their 
round-houses, their machine and repair shops, their 
lumber-yards, and their sheds for cars, &c. Whether 
they (the Union Pacific) should run their trains east, 
across the bridge, and on the Council Bluff's side receive 
their passengers, or whether the three Eastern roads 
should run their trains across the bridge, and set their 
passengers down in Omaha, ought to be determined by 
the convenience and interests of the passengers them- 
selves ; and when the companies will try to consult the 
interests of the people, for whom they are created, this 

24* 



282 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

question, like many others, will find a reasonable solution, 
— one to the equal advantage of all concerned. 

Even during my stay West, many changes were 
effected, which the convenience of passengers demanded ; 
as, for instance, the officers of the Eastern roads now 
check their baggage on the Omaha side of passengers 
from the West; and all the roads East sell tickets to 
Omaha, entitling the holder to be carried across the 
bridge. 

This much for the bridge, which all the engineers 
who have examined it pronounce a great success; its 
perfect safety being of especial mention. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Summary View of California, — Advice to Those intending to go 
West. — The Object of the Series of Letters, "Across the Conti- 
nent." — Our Valedictory. 

CALIFORNIA AGAIN. 

It was our intention to have said something about 
California as a residence for invalids, before we closed 
these series of papers ; but all this is so much better 
done in a book recently published by the Harpers, 
that we will only refer you to the chapters of Mr. Nord- 
hoff's " California for Health, Pleasure, and Eesidence." 
We will only add, that as this State has the only 
tropical climate the nation can boast, and indeed the 
only place with such a climate which our race has found 
to be a congenial home, all those seeking such condi- 
tions can visit Southern California with far more com- 
fort and ease than they can go to Cuba, and be all the 
time within the United States, protected by the " stars 
and stripes." As a place for people looking for a spot 

283 



284 THE ATLANTIC 

where they can find a better field for their labor, whafc 
we have heretofore said must furnish the ground for 
judgment. On every side, we saw evidences of hopes 
blasted ; and many, very many of those who seek the 
West would do better in the East : but, on the other 
hand, in every city and town, and all through the fertile 
valleys, were men who had braved the hardships of a 
new settlement, and were at ease in handsome proper- 
ties. Of all the vast throng who early pushed across 
the plains, only those of the greatest physical strength 
succeeded in reaching their destination. Along the 
whole way, and even to this day, are seen the graves 
of those who fell in tlieir struggles to reach the land 
of gold, — the place where their dreams of wealth would 
be realized. All our observations in California can be 
summed up in a few words. The cities and larger 
towns are overcrowded; the mining-camps are filled 
to repletion ; and those who depend upon mining have 
a precarious living, for Chinamen, who can fare, to 
them, luxuriantly on ten cents a day, have come in to 
reduce wages, and dig over again the earth from which 
the American has obtained the gold as cleanly as he 
could afford to, and live. The agricultural lands are 
still open, and Mother-earth, year by year, yields her 
abundant harvests ; but ranching is so different from 
Eastern fai'ming, that it is only through many failures, 



TO THE PACIFIC. 28b 

that the agriculturist has learned how to win her 
favors. The vineyard offers more inducements, and 
lands seemingly unfit for planting have been found 
well adapted for growing grapes. The wine interest 
has now become very important^ — worthy of a long 
chapter. In this department, it has only been after 
many years of trials and failures, that success has been 
achieved; and Chinamen have come in to do all the 
work in the vineyard : indeed, they can fairly be said 
to have saved the wine-growing interests from irretriev- 
able ruin. 

I would not draw such a picture as would induce 
any one to expect, that, anywhere in California, he could 
find a place where he could command success by the 
asking. If he goes to the shores of the Pacific, he 
must work; and working will anywhere bring its re- 
wards. It is a grave mistake for us to give ourselves 
up to trying to find a place where a living is easily 
made; for, if there is ever such a place found, I venture 
the assertion that it will be a place where no one will 
like to stay. The poor, ignorant Indian spends his 
days in looking for a place where he will have no hunt- 
ing (his work) to do, and fancies for himself a heaven 
where the deer will come to his wigwam-door to be 
made into venison. Do we do much better? Our 
advice to young men is, to stay where they are ; and, 



286 THE ATLANTIC 

if they are fortunate enough to be on a good New- 
England farm, stick and work, and be assured that their 
success will be greater than those who go West, in a 
majority of cases. The want of success lies not so much 
in our location as in the baneful notion which is be- 
coming so inwrought into our American character, in 
both sexes, that we must get a living without work. 
Ennoble the workman ; make wealth a means, and not 
an eyid, — and then our young men, whether they find 
themselves in the East or in the West, will command 
success, and our j^oung women will receive compen- 
sation according to their labor, instead of their sex. 

But I do not intend an essay upon a subject wdiich 
is worthy of such sober words and such thoughtful 
reflection. 

To the man of leisure, made independent by in- 
vested property, no portion of this earth has more 
attractions than California, wonderful in her scenery, 
unparalleled in her trees and plants, pleasing in her 
varied climates, and with a people noble in their hospi- 
tality. 

The great ease and comfort with which the journey 
is made over the Union and Central Pacific Eoads 
warrants us in advising all, even those in delicate 
health, to make a visit to the Golden State. If there 
were nothing of interest at the end of their journey, tliey 



TO THE PACIFIC. 287 

would be fully repaid by the pleasure and instruction 
gained by a ride over these two railroads, across vast 
prairies, over a great desert, and along the " gold dig- 
gings.^^ Beyond these roads, you have the Yo-Semite, 
the spot of the sublimest scenery which man has yet 
beheld, — of waterfalls higher and grander than all 
others, a valley unique in all its surroundings, and in 
its huge granite hills, rugged and isolated ; all making 
a spot which ought to be visited by every one who can 
spare the time, and has the means. 

In a former chapter we gave our views of the time 
to make the journey, and estimates of the cost&j to 
which we refer those who intend to make the journey. 

And now we must make our 

VALEDICTORY. 

When labors are accomplished, we always do this; 
and the approved order is to begin by recalling the 
past. When we left Providence in April last, we 
turned to the West for health and recreation. We 
always had a strong desire to behold the great plains 
and mountains, the rivers and lakes, the cities and 
communities, of the West ; and especially to visit Cali- 
fornia, and look with our own eyes upon the Yo-Semite 
All has been accomplished. As we pushed on step by 

25 



288 THE ATLANTIC 

step, we were so much more astonislied than we ex- 
pected by the country and the people, tha^ we were con- 
firmed in the wisdom of our decision formed in Chicago, 
of trying to make our friends acquainted with the in- 
cidents of the trip, and of the country through which 
we passed, and the people we met, by a series of letters 
to the press! 

Beaching Chicago, and resting for a day, we were 
forcibly impressed with a feeling of duty to write de- 
scriptive letters ; and you will all recall our first letter 
then and there penned, which appeared May 16, in 
which we laid out our plan, and made you a promise, 
" in a series of letters to describe not only the points 
of interest in a journey to California, but to speak of 
the way to see them." 

With our readers remains the verdict, whether or 
not we have kept the promise then made. 

One aim we kept steadily in view ; viz., to write for 
the people, that all might go along on the journey. It 
seemed to us that we could be better understood by 
taking our readers on the several excursions made, 
and then talk over what we had seen. To gain a 
proper idea of the country, one must know the people : 
hence we have introduced you to those with whom 
we became acauainted when they were characteristic 
men. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 289 

No words ever cheered us more than those of a man 
wlio daily passes our door with kettle in hand for his 
work, when he said, " I have enjoyed your trip to 
California; for I could see the country from reading your 
letters." It was for such men that we wrote, — those 
who could not spare the time to travel to the Pacific : 
for them we desired to bring pleasure as well as in- 
struction for their leisure hours. If, for one, we have 
made his path 2i little brighter, then we are rewarded; 
and maybe very many have gained some new thought, 
or stored away some fact before unknown. 

Such, then, were the purpose and aim of " Across the 
Continent ; " and the series of letters can only claim to 
be a faithful description of what was seen, and a record 
of well-considered judgments from the facts before us 
at the time. 

And, in closing, we must not omit to return many 
and heartfelt thanks to those friends whom we found 
throughout the West, and to those new friends made 
during our journey, to all of whom we are so greatly 
indebted for favors and courtesies. We would gladly 
name each ; but we fear to do so, lest we omit some one 
from the long list. Let this, then, be to each a sincere 
acknowledgment of their kindnesses. 

The question has often been asked us since our 
return home, if we had seen any place that we would 

25 



290 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

prefer for a residence to Providence. To all we have 
said, No ! The city of our birth, the scenes of our child- 
hood, the arena where has been accomplished the little 
we have done, has more charms than all the vast West. 
New England is dear to us; and the land of Roger 
Williams is dearer. There is a feeling of secure and 
assured success in our older communities of the East, 
that is wanting in the West ; and it is this which gives 
stability to our society. Our libraries, our churches, 
our schools and colleges, are all founded, and around 
them cluster fond memories. The land we live in is 
historic. The West has just begun to write its history. 
The shores of the Narragansett, then, shall make us a 
liome; yet we pray that we may again, some day, go 
*^ Across the Continent." 



CHAPTEE XXVIII. 

Down the Denver Pacific Railroad. — The Towns of Greeley and 
Evans, and their Characteristics. — Our first View of Denver. 

As I have heretofore mentioned, the way into Colo- 
rado from the Union Pacific is from Cheyenne by the 
Denver Pacific Pailway. The length of this road is 
a hundred and six miles ; and the initial steps towards 
the building of it were taken in 1867. The capitalists 
of Denver, and, in fact, the whole Territory of Colorado, 
gave to this important enterprise their hearty approval ; 
and so liberally did they subscribe for tlie stock, that, 
with the aid of Eastern capital and influence, on the 
sixteenth day of December, 1869, fifty-eight miles from 
Cheyenne to Evans were opened; and on the twenty- 
second day of June, 1870, the first passenger-train went 
over the whole length of the road. 

It was a pleasant June afternoon that we coupled 
our car to the train on this road, and started for Denver. 
As Cheyenne is in the extreme south of Wyoming, 

291 



292 THE ATLANTIC 

and our course lies almost due south, we are not long 
in running out of that Territory and into Colorado. 

Soon after leaving Wyoming, the E-ocky Mountains 
come into view, stretching away to the west and south 
as far as the eye can reach. Long's Peak is a ma- 
jestic mountain ; and about its ever snow-clad summit 
hang dark and ominous clouds, while to west the 
sun is just sinking behind a ridge of hills. A grand 
sight it is, indeed; and long will the scene remain in 
mind. 

Now that we are in Colorado, let us describe its 
geographical location and limits. The act of Congress 
creating the Territory gives its boundaries as follows : 
"Commencing on the thirty-seventh parallel of north 
latitude, where the twenty-fifth meridian west from 
Washington crosses the same ; thence north on said 
meridian to the forty-first parallel of north latitude; 
thence along said parallel west to the thirty-second 
meridian of longitude west from Washington ; thence 
south on said meridian to the northern line of New 
Mexico; thence along the thirty-seventh parallel of 
north latitude to the place of beginning." 

The geographical location of Colorado can be more 
easily found and recognized on the map by an exami- 
nation of its territorial surroundings. On the north 
is the Territory of Wyoming and the State of Ne- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 293 

braska ; on the east, the State of Kansas ; on the south, 
Kew Mexico ; and on the west, the Territory of 
Utah. 

In shape, Colorado is nearly square, embracing an 
area of 105,708 square miles, or 67,653,120 acres. 

A ride of fifty-six miles brings to Greeley, — a thriv- 
ing settlement, which, although not yet two years old, 
gave evidences of substantial growtli, and an assured 
increase. It is the centre of the " Union Colony," 
who purchased lands in the valley of the Cache a la 
Poudre Kiver, and on the Denver Pacific Railway, 
half way between Denver and Cheyenne, April 5, 1870. 
The population is not far from two thousand ; number 
of buildings five hundred; and there are about fifty 
thousand acres of land. Number of acres now under 
irrigating canals, thirty thousand (said canals being 
respectively twelve and twenty-seven miles long ) ; 
number of acres under plough at present, about five 
thousand ; water-power canal two miles long and thirty 
feet wide. The soil is unsurpassed for fertility, and all 
kinds of crops are grown. There are five churches, 
two lyceums, one Masonic lodge, one Odd Fellows' 
lodge, one Good Templars' lodge, four schools, and a 
large graded school-building of brick, in process of 
erection. There are about twenty stores and shops, 
a grist-mill, and mechanics of all kinds. The trade 

25* 



294 THE ATLANTIC 

with the valleys is large, and constantly increasing ; 
while the town and country are rapidly growing. 

There will, undoubtedly, soon be other railroads cen- 
tring at this place, bringing it into closer communication 
with other cities and towns. One peculiar feature is, that 
there is no liquor sold in Greeley, and, in all the deeds 
of land given, a covenant is inserted forever forbidding 
its sale ; and, as a natural consequence, there are no bil- 
liard or other saloons along the streets. 

A few miles on, we come to Evans, the central town 
of the St. Louis Western Colony, which located here, 
March 15, 1861, where the railroad crosses the South 
Platte Eiver. The air about the depot is very different 
from Greeley. That thrift and neatness so conspicuous 
there is wanting here. Liquor is sold at Evans ; and, 
if that is the cause, temperance lecturers would only 
have to take their hearers over the Denver Pacific 
Pailroad to make them all converts. The colon}^ have 
sixty thousand acres ; and, so far as prosperity goes, 
they stand well with the other settlements. 

But we push on, and just after six o'clock we reach 
Denver, " queen city of the plain." It is the county- 
seat of Arapahoe County, and the capital of Colorado ; 
is situated on the Platte River, at a point where Cherry 
Creek forms a confluence with that stream. It is the 
most important city, west of the Missouri Eiver, east of 



TO THE PACIFIC. 295 

tlie mountains, and lias already a population of well- 
nigh twenty thousand. A stroll about the town on the 
evening of our arrival gave us the impression of a 
lively place, quiet and orderly, and a June atmosphere 
that was delightful. 

Our car has been switched upon a siding, and we 
shall make it our hotel while we stay in Denver. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Denver, its History and Situation. — A Grand Mountain- View. — 
The Colorado Central Railroad. — The City of Golden. 

Now that we have been in Denver a day, we can 
give a better description of the city. In 1858, a few 
emigrants named the place Auraria, from the fact that 
gold was found a few miles east, — on Cherry Creek. 
This early settlement comprised what is now called West 
Denver. As the settlement increased, it was called St. 
Charles, afterwards Denver. The cit}^ government was 
organized Dec. 19, 1859. In 1863, on the nineteenth 
day of April, a fire swept through the city, destroying 
property valued at a quarter of a million. Again, in 
1864, on the nineteenth day of May, the city was de- 
stroyed, but this time by a flood. The next year, the 
Indians so blockaded the city, that the inhabitants were 
nearly starved : but, out of all these early catastrophes, 
she has come ; the men who had settled there seeming 
only the more resolute and determined as the hardships 
increased. Within the last five years, she has taken 

296 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 297 

mighty strides forward, and is by far the most New- 
England-looking town that I found west of the Missis- 
sippi. She is a centre of a great and increasing trade ; 
and her stores and warehouses are luxurious in their ap- 
pointments. The streets are broad and well kept ; the 
private dwellings are neat and comfortable ; the churches 
and schoolhouses are scattered through the city, giving 
the people their advantages. There is here a seminary 
for young ladies, which has a reputation beyond the 
Territory. 

The city is located on the Platte Eiver, at the junc- 
tion of Cherry Creek, thirteen miles from the base of 
the mountains, which offer great protection against the 
fierce winds. The city is elevated sixty-two hundred 
and fifty feet above the sea ; and the climate is delight- 
fully mild. Denver is situated near the western border 
of that great plain, which, from the Missouri River, 
stretches westward for six hundred miles, to the base of 
the Eocky Mountains. Larimer is the principal street ; 
and upon it are many fine blocks of stores, built of 
brick, stone, and iron. There are several hotels in the 
city, which offer pleasant homes to the tourist. 

A MOUNTAIN-VIEW. 

Standing in the main street of the city, and turning 



298 THE ATLANTIC 

to the west, we have a mountain-view which is unsur- 
passed on the continent. To the north we have Long's 
Peak, and the hills stretching away to Cheyenne ; in 
front of us, we have Gray's Peak ; and away to the south 
we have Pike's Peak, and the hills towards the Arkan- 
sas River. The length of this range of mountains is 
more than two hundred miles ; and when you bear in 
mind that many of them are more than fourteen thou- 
sand feet above the sea, are snow-clad the whole year, 
and that the clouds rest far down their sides, you can 
gain some idea of the grandeur of the scene. 

We lingered long, looking at these mountains. They 
were enchanting, as the morning sun in its journey from 
the Atlantic reached their snowy sides, and made them 
sparkle in his beams : they were even more enchanting 
when — 

" Came still evening on, and twilight gray 
Had in her sober livery all things clad ; " 

for, as the sun left their western sides to sink himself in 
the Pacific, their grim forms, with the deep, dark fur- 
rows which time has ploughed, through their rocky 
faces, seemed to stand out so solemn, that they become 
mute advocates of Nature's power. 

The people of Denver, as a class, are intelligent and 
thrifty ; and there is much wealth accumulated among 



TO THE PACIFIO. 299 

the citizens. No city of its size is better supplied with 
newspapers ; and their character is high-toned and cul- 
tivated, which cannot be said of the papers published in 
many a Western hamlet. We found the citizens hospi- 
table and kind ; and from many we received especial 
favors. Tourists will find Denver a city worthy of a 
visit ; and a stay of a week there will create such a 
love for the town, that it will be left with many re- 
grets. 

William N. Byers, editor of " The Eocky Mountain 
News," the leading paper of Colorado, took the first 
printing-press into the Territory during the Pike's Peak 
excitement. He has now one of the most complete 
printing-offices in the West. 

Spending an evening at his hospitable home, we were 
greatly interested in the descriptions which he gave of 
the Pike's Peak excitement, when so many thousands 
toiled across the plains to this section in search of that 
ever-luring but ever-vanishing phantom, — a fortune. 
Such struggles as were then made to find and hold 
ground which covered the golden treasure seem now 
almost superhuman. The crowd which gathered was 
estimated at from fifteen to twenty thousand ; and how 
few of that company found their fortunes! The late 
Horace Greeley visited this scene of excitement early 
in 1849, and upon a pleasant Sunday addressed the 



300 THE ATLANTIC 

crowd assembled near by where is now built the city. of 
Black Hawk. There were probably gathered ten thou- 
sand people within sight of where he stood. What an 
audience! What an orator ! The excitement , which had 
become so intense, died away more gradually, partly by 
new diggings which were found in other sections, and 
to which the adventurers rushed, until they became 
scattered through the mountains, and over the plains. 
Thus, by degrees, those who had toiled so hard to reach 
this " promised land " found that a fortune was not to 
be picked up from the ground, and turned their atten- 
tion to legitimate modes of gaining a livelihood ; and to 
the little settlement of Denver they came to find for 
themselves shelter and food. 

Denver has now gained such a position, that she 
must remain the metropolis of Colorado. 

GOLDEN. 

Seventeen miles almost due west of Denver lies the 
pretty town of Golden, nestled among the foot-hills of 
the main range of the Rocky Mountains. It is the 
county-seat of Jefferson County, and contains a popula- 
tion of some two thousand souls. There are two huge 
mountains of basaltic rock, called North and South Table 
Mountains, so situated ^.s to completely shelter the 



TO THE PACIFIC. 301 

thriving hamlet from the winter winds. It is one of 
the oldest settlements made in the Territory, and lies 
upon both sides of Clear Creek, — a position determined 
by gulch miners, who for a long time found gold in pay- 
ing quantities along the banks of the creek. 

We reached this town over the Colorado Central Boad, 
by its eastern division ; and our hotel has been opened 
on a high bank east of the town, of which, from the car- 
windows, we have a fine view. 

COLORADO CENTRAL RAILROAD. 

The Colorado Central E-ailroad leaves the Kansas 
Pacific about a mile from Denver, and runs sixteen miles 
west to Golden and the entrance to the caiion, down 
which rushes Clear Creek ; which canon is found to be 
the only route by which the great mining section which 
embraces the cities of Black Hawk, Central, Idaho, and 
Georgetown, can be reached by rail. The road is 
already graded several miles up the canon ; and the work 
is pushed on as fast as possible. The Union Pacific has 
taken this company under its fostering care; and it 
must become a very important line. Much credit for 
its success is also due to the officers of the company, 
and the chief engineer, Capt. Edward Berthond. They 
are gentlemen of enterprise and judgment; and such 
men com'pel success. 



302 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

Our walk about the town has given us great pleasure; 
for the place is so prettily located, the scenery is so fine, 
the people so hospitable. The place is a good one for 
the tourist to make his^om;^ d^appui ; for here carriages 
and saddle-horses can be had for the various trips into 
the mountains. There is a good hotel here, called the 
Golden House ; and the way in which the proprietors 
keep it entitles them to larger and more extended ae- 
commodations. A new hotel building, I was told, was 
contemplated. 

Thus much for our first day's stay in this town with 
a name telling of the treasure which lies up the canon, 
in tlie huge mountains whose crests rise far away to the 
west. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

The Eoad from Denver to the Mines. — The Colorado Central 
Raih'oad up Clear-Creek Canon. — The Cities of Black Hawk 
and Central. — The Influence of the Koad on Mining. — Prof. 
Hill's Smelting- Works. 

Superintendent Sickels lias arranged for a jour- 
ney up to Central City. Now the stages leave Golden 
every morning, upon the arrival of the train, for the min- 
ing-towns. We are to go by private carriages. We are 
now at an elevation of sixty-two hundred feet. When 
we reach Central, we shall be eighty-three hundred feet ; 
and the distance by carriage-road is twenty-four miles : 
so you can see we are to go up hill by a pretty steep 
grade. 

Early morning found our carriages in waiting ; and, 
by good fortune, I was assigned to that under charge of 
Capt. Berthoud. The captain, myself, and two of the 
ladies, were thus comfortably seated for our ride. 

We drove out of the city, and were soon entering a 
narrow defile in the mountain, and following a narrow 



304 THE ATLANTIC 

road which lay along the bank of a little hrook. As 
we enter the defile, we pass the toll-gate, which has been 
named the ^' Golden Gate." The June days had covered 
the hillsides with beautiful flowers ; and, as we rode by, 
man}^ familiar faces seen in our own garden appeared 
here and there. 

By a toilsome journey we reached the summit called 
Gray's Hill, from whence a peculiarly charming view is 
had, and thence down to the banks of North Clear Creek, 
up which we wended our way to Black Hawk City. 
We were much charmed with the mountain meadows, 
and the majestic growths of timber through which our 
road lay. Capt. Berthoud* was familiar with every step 
of the way ; for over it many times he made his way on 
foot, and with the flowers and rocks, too, he had formed 
an acquaintance. If there was not tallz that day on the 
road, then I forget myself. . 

There was a kind of romance in the ride; for up 
Clear-creek Canon they were laying a track over which 
to drive an iron horse, — an event which was to change 
(oh ! so thoroughly change) the mode of going from the 
plain up to the mining-camps, — now so toilsome and 
slow ; then how easy ! and we making the journey on 

* Edward Berthoud was born in France. He is an engineer of repute. 
Has an extensive knowledge of mountain-life, Berthoud Pass Avas named 
in his honor. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 305 

one of the few days remaining before all that has been 
so long is changed. Sure, Chapin was right when he 
exclaimed, " The steam-engine and the electric-telegraph 
have jerked the nineteenth century a thousand years 
ahead/' 

It had always been considered impossible to build a 
railroad up to the mines ; and, in the earlier days of 
the Territory, the legislature, as is the wont of such 
august bodies on the last day of the session, used to 
annually pass a bill incorporating all the clever spirits 
of the capital a company to build a railroad up Clear- 
creek Canon. What they then deemed impossible is to- 
day an accomplished fact ; and the steam-engine is puf- 
fing up the steep grade into the heart of the mountains. 
To no one man is this enterprise so much indebted for 
its success as to Superintendent Sickels of the Union 
Pacific, who has directed all the vast undertakings. 
After he finished the great bridge over the Missouri, he 
naturally turned to Clear-creek Canon, and resolved to 
lay a narrow-gauge track along the banks of the roaring 
stream. Suffice it to say it is all accomplished. 

We have reached the first of the cities which lie 
closely joined in the canon, and are within the corpora- 
tion known as 

BLACK HAWK. 

The first object which meets our view is the office of the 

26* 



306 THE ATLANTIC 

Boston and Colorado Smelting-WorkS; over whicli Prof. 
Hill, formerly of Brown University, presides with so 
much ability. These extensive works are more gener- 
ally known as "Hill's Smelting- Works." The pro- 
fessor, besides knowing how to make the ore give up 
the gold, is said to know how to rule a people : hence 
he is the mayor of the city. 

We felt constrained to leave our carriage to go on to 
Central, while we sought out the professor. Finding 
him, we received such a greeting as a professor knows 
how to give a pupil who has been growing old^ while he 
has remained at ease with age. 

We received more instruction in the hour which we 
spent with Prof. Hill in looking over his works than 
we ever did in the same length of time before. All the 
many difficulties which had been encountered in reduciug 
the ores were made plain to us, the successful processes 
shown, the mode of assaying the ores, the process of 
roasting and forming the "matte," all were explained. 
We wish the limits of this chapter would permit an ex- 
tended description ; but we must content ourselves by 
saying that the ores are roasted, and then reduced to a 
"matte," as it is called, which consists of copper, iron, 
and gold, and in this state is shipped to Swansea, Eng- 
land, there to be further reduced, and the gold taken out 
pure and unalloyed. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 307 

We cannot delay longer at the " works ; " but, with 
Prof. Hill, we visited a " stamp-mill," which we will de- 
scribe in our chapter on quartz-mining. We rode 
through the city, and were told we were in Central. 
Now, I have no doubt the mayor knows exactly where 
the line between the two cities is; but I declare I 
would wager all the gold in Colorado, if I had it, that 
even he, in a dark night, could not find it. 

Let me describe this settlement, which goes by the 
names of 

BLACK HAWK AND CENTRAL CITY. 

Two huge mountains with almost perpendicular sides ; 
a rushing mountain-stream, the bed of which had been 
dug over and over, and thrown into irregular heaps ; a 
narrow street, with a walk on one side wide enough for 
a single file (if all are going in the same direction), the 
houses set along either side of this highway close 
together, and their door opening directly into the streets ; 
little shops and little stores ; little banking-offices and 
lawyers' signs, with smelting-works and stamp-mills just 
behind these houses (all now still) ; and, up the sides of 
these mountains, houses perched one above the other, 
with long steps to reach them, where dwell the miners ; 
and, farther up, the little sheds which cover the 
entrances to the mines, with this canon widening out a 



308 THE ATLANTIC 

little at its upper end, where there are several cross- 
streets lined with buildings, and a huge brick hotel, the 
" Teller House," looking down upon you from the shelf 
of solid rock upon which it stands, and which was made 
by blasting, with no trees or shade, and dust ; (oh the 
dust !) and then people the towns with from five to seven 
thousand persons, — and you have the cities of Central 
and Black Hawk. 

A walk of a mile brought us to the Teller House, — 
a new hotel, and kept well. It was erected by H. M. 
Teller, an old resident of Central, and now president of 
the Colorado Central Kailroad, and is creditable to his 
enterprise and public sjDirit. 

A drive about the cities next morning only confirmed 
our previous notions. It is a peculiar settlement, — the 
love of gold alone keeping people up in this high moun- 
tain region, — and is by far the largest community in 
the world dwelling at so high an altitude. 

By walking up the hillsides, you can find places 
where the ore has been taken out from between walls of 
solid granite, — small seams which have been entirely 
excavated, and down which you can look, and observe 
the peculiar formation. The opening would perhaps 
start as wide as your hand ; then it would widen out to 
several feet ; then, again, narrow, and so on until the vein 
was entirely lost. This last condition the miners call 



TO THE PACIFIC. 309 

^^ petering out ; " and, when a mine peters out, it is done 
for. And my notion is, that a great deal of the stock 
owned in the East must be in petered-out mines ; for I 
never heard of a dividend having been seen in these 
parts. 

Here were all those famous lodes of which so much 
has been written,- and by far more talked, in years ago, 
when speculation was so rife. We will not enumerate 
their names ; for we might cause unhappy memories to 
rise in our readers' minds, or set them to looking over 
-finely engraved and embellished stock-certificates. 

But still gold and silver mining is and must remain 
as the basis of Colorado's prosperity. 

The mines are very numerous, and many of them ex- 
ceedingly rich. Mining is a very attractive business ; 
and, so long as there is fair probability of working mines 
to advantage, there will be found plenty of men to 
engage in that industry. Colorado yields now from five 
to seven millions of dollars in gold and silver per year ; 
and that production will, in a very few years, be in- 
creased to twenty-five or thirty millions, and grow from 
that to an indefinite figure. That result only awaits bet- 
ter and more general means of transportation through- 
out the mountain-districts, more abundant labor, and 
cheaper supplies. Gold and silver are her principal 
articles of export ; and the amount has been sufficient, 



310 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

from the first settlement of the country, to keep the 
balance of exchange always in her favor. 

The better means of transportation are now at hand ; 
and I was assured by Prof Hill that many mines which 
now were unworked would pay well when the railroad 
could be used to transport the ores to some place where 
fuel could be had cheaply. Now the two items of 
fuel and transportation forbid the working of only the 
richest mines, and make the scene one rather of deso- 
lation than of prosperity. The opening of the railroad 
will change all this ; and these mountains will again be 
covered by puffing engines drawing up the precious 
ores from their hidden recesses. 



CHAPTEE XXXI. 

Idaho Springs. — Georgetown. — The Ride back to Golden. — The 
Mechanical Enterprises of Golden. — Clear-Creek Canon. — 
Peculiar Expressions used in Mining Towns. — The Climate 
and Parks of Colorado. 

We arranged to return to Golden by way of Idaho 
Springs, which lies upon the South Fork of Clear Creek. 
We had to climb up over the " divide " separating these 
streams ; but the grand and magnificent views which we 
obtained amply repaid our trouble and labor. Several 
points reached by us were more than ten thousand feet 
above the sea-level. 

When we had gained an elevated point, from which 
we saw those mountains which Bierstadt had painted in 
his famous picture, entitled " A Storm in the Rocky 
Mountains," we could see the road which led to the 
" springs,'' just at the foot of the hill, to reach which 
by carriage we must go a long way back, and, by a cir- 
cuitous route, get down to that level. There was in our 
party Stephen W. Downey, Esq., United-States Dis- 

311 



312 THE ATLANTIC 

trict Attorney for Wyoming, who, used to mountain- 
climbing, said the way was easy down the hillside. 
Unhesitatingly I volunteered to accompany him ; and 
away we started down over the- rocks, and into the 
thicket. This was fun — trudging down a mountain ! 

When nearly to the road, we sat down to rest, and 
saw our carriage drive by towards the village. When 
we reached the road, we found ourselves about three 
miles from Idaho, for which place we set out ; for the 
morning's adventures had given me an appetite which 
would do justice to a good dinner. It reminded me of 
what the old Connecticut farmer said, "Now, I always 
eat codfish for breakfast ; for it gives me such a thirst by 
ten o'clock, that I wouldn't take a hundred dollars for 
it." Now, if any of my readers desire as valuable an 
appetite, just climb down a mountain a few thousand 
feet in Colorado. 

Just on our way a little we came to a spring, and 
near by a little log-cabin, from which came an old gray- 
headed man, who accosted us, and with whom we at 
once began a talk. 

Said he, " Haven't you heard my name mentioned in 
these parts ? " 

We assured him that we had not been long in the 
mountains ; at which he quickly caught, and said, — 

'' Ah ! I see. Looking for claims. Now, I teU ye I 



TO THE PACIFIC. 313 

have got some of the richest leads you ever saw, and I 
will sell 'em cheap." 

We assured him that we were not in search of mining 
properties, a fact which seemed to ill suit him. Here 
lives this old man alone, protecting his various claims, 
and patiently waiting for some one to come and buy his 
property, — a possessory right; for this is all he has to 
sell. He is not alone ; for all through these mountains 
you see just such characters, who are eking out their 
lives in dreams of wealth. 

At last we entered the village, and found our friends 
all ready to receive us. Going to the register to enter 
my name, I found that it had been already done by some 
friend, who opposite had written, " Lost in the woods 
this day ; probably eaten up by bears." Thus was I in- 
troduced into the Beebe House at Idaho Springs. 

These springs were known to the early miners, and 
were a favorite place of resort long after all the gold 
had been dug from the bed of the creek which flows by 
near at hand. There is still standing the great pine, its 
branches still offering refreshing shade, under which, 
for many months, was the great tent, the popular saloon 
of the section, and over the entrance to which was 
painted in large letters, " Saint's Rest." 

By all means go to Idaho Springs, and at the Beebe 
House you will find pleasant accommodations. Many 

27 



314 THE ATLANTIC 

Eastern people find their way up into these mountains 
during the summer. 

A few miles from here, the enterprising community 
of Georgetown find a home, sheltered on all sides by 
high mountain-peaks. Extensive smelting-works are 
located here ; and a pleasant and profitable excursion 
is made to the town, over a pleasant mountain-road. 

Our ride back lay along the creek for many miles, 
the bed and banks of which have been dug over and 
over for the gold. Mining disfigures the country ; for 
its operations distort and change Nature. 

After leaving the creek, we struck into the mountain- 
meadows, and through rich farms and 2:)astures. So 
fresh and green were the fields, so luxuriant were the 
trees, so pure and crystal-like the streams, that he must 
be blind indeed to Nature's glories who is not enchanted 
with the ride from Idaho to Golden. 

As we enter the city from this side, we pass by the 
great coal-deposits, from some of which they are now 
digging fuel ; also great beds of fire-clay, from which 
brick are made, and sent as far away as Utah ; and high 
ledges of a peculiar limestone, which makes a good 
building-material. Truly Nature has favored this spot. 
It seems that here mast be erected the great reduction- 
works which sliall receive the ore from the hills above, 
and separate the pure gold from foreign substances. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 315 

We were much pleased with a visit to the pioneer 
paper-mill of the Territory, where is made various 
grades of wrapping-paper, and where have been made 
extensive experiments with the soap-weed (Yucca an- 
gustifolia), which covers the hill-sides. This plant 
resembles the threaded yucca (Yucca filamentosa) of 
our gardens. So far, the manufacture has not proved a 
success ; although we brought away with us a specimen 
of fair paper which was made wholly from this weed. 

There is a pottery here, as well as two flouring-mills ; 
and some other mechanical enterprises are projected. 

CLEAR-CREEK CANON. 

It was arranged that a large party should go up Clear- 
creek Canon to examine the grading which had been 
already done for the road-bed. 

The canon is narrow ; and the river is a raging tor- 
rent, pouring over a steep and rocky bed. The walls 
are high, and the rocks often fantastic in appearance. 
The formation is volcanic, the strata being thrown into 
confusion. The trees are tall and thrifty, the June 
flowers magnificent. The scenery all along the canon 
is pleasing, and often wild and fantastic. 

The road seems taken from the river-bed by walling 
its waters into a narrower channel. In some places, a 



316 THE ATLANTIC 

great amount of heavy blasting has been done ; and to 
get around the mountains, and up the tortuous canon, 
the road is, of course, very crooked. The work so far 
has been a success : the road-bed has stood the spring 
freshet, and the iron will be laid at once. Before we 
left Golden, the iron began to arrive ; and, since our 
return East, the track has been pushed forward, until 
now you can take the cars at Grolden, and be landed at 
Central Cit}^ ; and by another season Idaho Springs and 
Georgetown can be reached by rail. The day spent in 
Clear-creek Canon was full of enjoyment, and we shall 
always rejoice that we visited it before the engineer 
completely conquered Nature with his iron bands. The 
scenery will repay a visit. 



THE CHURCH AT GOLDEN". 

During one of our walks about the town with a 
friend, passing a little church, we inquired the denomi- 
nation. He at once replied to our question by saying, 
"Hydraulic Presbyterian." It was some time before 
we could make out that it was a Baptist chapel. There 
was certainly a quaintness about this designation ; and 
the water was given due prominence. There are some 
other expressions peculiar here. You often hear a 
man say, " I'll put a caribou head on you," which is 



TO THE PACIFIC. 317 

equivalent to saying that you will give a man a whip- 
ping. '^ Plumb" is a word which is always used to in- 
tensify^ as " plumb sure/' " plumb good/' &c. If a man 
fails in business, "he has gone up the flume/' or "he 
has petered out." When they catch a thief, they " cor- 
rall him." When a person dies, " he passes in his 
checks." I was shown the tree to which, in earlier 
days, they used to hang the offenders ; and my friend 
said, " You see that tree yonder : well, I have seen many 
a rascal pass in his checks there." If a man leaves his 
land or his mine, and another comes in and takes pos- 
session, he "jumps the claim," as they say. " You 
bet " is on every one's tongue ; and the natives put it in 
between their words in peculiar manner, and it seems to 
take the place of our Eastern oaths. I might go on, but 
these will give you some of the peculiarities of tlie 
speech of the people who live in these mining-camps. 

There is a narrow gauge-road called " The Denver 
and Kio Grande Kailway," which runs south, and is now 
completed as far as Pueblo on the Arkansas River. 

An excursion from Denver over this road, making 
stops along at the points of interest, will amply repay 
the time required. This road goes by the title of " Baby 
Railroad " in Denver and along the line. From the 
city of Denver, there is a line east (the Kansas 



27* 



318 THE ATLANTIC 



Pacific) to Kansas City, and thence across Missouri to 



GUIS 



, J? 



St. L 

From what I have thus stated, it will be seen that 
Denver is an important railroad centre ; and, before 
man}'- years, Grolden will be a city from which will di- 
verge many important lines. 

Before I leave Colorado, I must say something about 
the climate and the mountain parks. 

The climate is proverbial for its mildness and re- 
markable healthfulness. There is no steady and intense 
cold; and almost every day in winter, in the middle of 
the day, the most delicate can be out of doors ; and there 
are very many days when you sit by an open window, 
and look upon the mountains to the west covered in 
snow far down their sides. 

Time permitting, excursions must be made into the 

PARKS. 

Only a general description can be given ; and any one 
proposing to make the journey had better consult 
some resident, and obtain guides upon whom reliance 
can be placed. 

A peculiar feature in the topography of Colorado is 
its great mountain-locked parks. They are great 
basins, or depressions, with surface and soil more or less 



TO THE PACIFIC. 319 

similar to that of the plains^ but entirely surrounded 
by lofty mountains. Their elevation is from seven to 
eight thousand feet above the sea. They are well 
watered and abundantly timbered, have a delightful 
climate throughout most of the year, and are ex- 
ceptionally healthful. All abound in mineral springs 
and minerals of great variety. Owing to the great al- 
titude, they are adapted to the culture of the hardier 
agricultural products only. 

Beginning in the south, the first is San Luis Park, 
drained by the Eio Grande del Norte, which flows 
south, and then south-east, into the Gulf of Mexico. 
The San Luis is the lowest and the largest of the 
parks. It has been settled for many years by Mexi- 
cans, and has a population of eight or ten thousand 
people. 

South Park (Valla Salada of the Spaniards) comes 
next. It gives rise to the South or main Platte, which 
flows out to the north-east, then eastward to the Mis- 
souri. The park is crescent-shaped, with the outer 
curve to the west. It is twenty to forty miles wide, 
and sixty or seventy miles long, — a vast meadow, which 
supports thousands upon thousands of cattle. Its rim 
abounds in gold and silver mines ; and rich gold placers 
are worked in many parts of it. 

Middle Park is the next, equally divided by the 



320 THE ATLANTIC 

fortieth degree of latitude. It is drained to the west 
by Grand Biver, and thence, by the Great Colorado, to 
the Gulf of California. The exit of the Grand is by a 
canon of sublime depth and awful grandeur. The 
outline of the park is irregular, but nearly circular; 
and it is about fifty miles in diameter.. Projecting 
spurs of the lofty mountains that enclose it shoot far 
out toward its centre. It is yet unsettled, and the 
most delightful summer resort imaginable for those 
who want to go beyond the restraints of civilization. 

North Park is near the north boundary of the Terri- 
tory, and gives rise to the North Platte, which flows 
first towards the north, and then east to the Missouri. 
It is a little circular basin, twenty or thirty miles in 
diameter, the most timbered and the loftiest of any. 
It has no settlements, and but few visitors ; but its 
natural attractions are not excelled. 

The parks are separated from one another by narrow 
but lofty ranges of mountains. The entire chain can 
be easily traversed from north to south, or from south 
to north, and presents the most varied, romantic, and 
beautiful scenery. 

SOCIETY IN COLORADO. 

It was an agreeable surprise to find such cultivated 



TO THE PACIFIC. 321 

society in the larger communities. Far to the south, 
we have a large proportion of Mexicans, and some 
of the old towns, where this people can be studied in 
their better aspect ; for to the west they seem to go 
down in the scale, and are little better than the Digger 
Indians. Among the mining-towns we have a mixed 
population, — a set of hardy fellows, whose mission 
seems to be to level the great mountains. They all 
hold " claims, or leads," and, to hear them talk, you 
would think them rich beyond the dreams of Croesus. 
Indeed, in these communities, I would like to see a 
resident who did not own a "claim." He would in- 
deed be a man uncontaminated with gold. In the 
larger communities, like Denver, Golden, and a few 
others, there is an air of New-England cultivation and 
thrift, rarely found in Western cities. There is in 
Denver a class of whom you will gain a better idea by 
a story. Among the miners there are, of course, some 
who get rich, and then seek the capital, where to spend 
their money, and enjoy fashionable life. Of such was 
our hero. A good brother, who having tried New 
York and the teaching of a flock, and failing, deemed 
his duty to be to open a school for young ladies ; an*d 
somebody called him to Denver. After he had made the 
preliminary arrangements, he cast around for pupils, and 
was directed to the fashionable house upon a fashion- 



322 THE ATLANTIC 

able street, occupied by our retired miner ; and, calling, 
thus ran the conversation : — 

"I was told, sir, that you had some young ladies in 
your family who desired to attend private school. I 
have removed from New York to your beautiful city of 

Denver, and have taken rooms at No. -: in 

Street. I am a Presbyterian minister, and propose to 
run my school upon religious principles " — 

" Stop, stop ! " cried our m^?^er-gentleman. " Stop, 
stop ! I don't know much about religion anyhow ; but 
I tell you I'm orthodox to the backbone, and my chil- 
dren must go to an orthodox school. I can't buy your 
claim to-day. Haven't any children here. Good-morn- 
ing, sir ! " 

The old miner never had had time to examine the 
tenets, but honestly wished to be considered sound 
according to the D.D.'s ; and, now that his life was 
jpeteving out, he desired to have his children educated 
in the true faith. Oh, how numerous are such ex- 
amples the world over! What fools do tenets and 
creeds make of us ! 

But now comes the time when we must leave Col- 
orado ; and, on the morning of the fourth day of July, 
we coupled our car to the train bound for Chej^enne. 
During our stay in Colorado, we had found many 
friends j and niany were the regrets which arose as the 



TO THE PACIFIC. 323 

housetops and churcli-spires of Denver faded from view. 
Ever green in our memories will remain the incidents 
and pleasures of our sojourn in the cities and hamlets, 
the canons and mountains, of " fair Colorado." 



CHAPTEE XXXII. 

Quartz-Mining in California and Colorado. — The Treatment of 
Colorado Ores. 

In previous chapters, I promised to describe quartz- 
mining, which at this day has ahuost entirely supersed- 
ed placer and hydraulic mining. As I have said, placer- 
mining was the earliest mode in which the loose gold 
was removed from the surface-soil by means of the in- 
expensive rocker, pan, &c. Hydraulic-mining is placer 
on a gigantic scale ; and, while the first mode is but 
little practised now, the latter is carried on, in some 
localities, to a profit. On the road to the Yo-Semite, 
3^ou will find Chinamen at work with those early imple- 
ments, rocker, pan, &c. ; and from the Central Pacific 
Eailroad, at Gold Run, you can see an example of hy- 
draulic-mining in the valley below the road. Quartz- 
mining is now the general mode of obtaining gold. 
Many have been the failures, sad the disappointments ; 
but it seems in California to have been reduced to a 
legitimate business. Many veins or leads where former 

324 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 325 

owners have lost vast sums of money are now, under 
new and more economical management, paying largely. 
I believe that here lies the secret, — as, in fact, in all in- 
dustries, — the economy with which the mine is worked. 
All through the mountains of California, and in Nevada, 
are great stamp-mills 'pounding out the gold from the 
rock. The rock, in these states, — pure quartz, through 
which is mingled gold and silver, — is blasted out, and 
taken to the surface, thence is run through a crusher, 
which reduces it to a fine dirt and small pieces. 

Now it goes to the " stamps ; " and let me see if I 
can describe these. 

Water must be had in abundance, and is generally 
brought in a flume into the mill, where it empties into 
the box, and is conducted out through a race. There is 
a heavy framework of timber, and long, upright sticks, 
to the end of which a heavy iron face is attached; 
which sticks are made to work up and down in guides. 
A shaft — upon which are cam-pulleys, or, gener- 
ally, merely a bar inserted through the shaft — is made 
to revolve by means of steam or water power, and, by 
the cam-motion, raises the stamps ; and, letting go, the 
stamp falls with force to the bottom of the box. The 
box extends the whole width of the framework, and into 
it is shovelled the crushed ore ; and the stamps pound 

away upon the stone and dirt in the water, which is 
28 



326 THE ATLANTIC 

made thick and muddy. On the side of the box to- 
wards the race are holes along the whole length, out of 
which the muddy water flows into a gutter, which carries 
it to a spout in the middle, from which it runs into the 
race. 

Now let us look at this race to see how they take 
from this mass of muddy water the gold. 

There are large copper plates which cover the bottom 
of the race. Upon them they spread a thin coating of 
quicksilver, which takes up the gold as the water flows 
over it.' There are several of these plates, which are 
placed one after the other down the race ; and at the end 
of the last is a blanket, made of wool, and through 
which the water flows. When it is thought the quick- 
silver has absorbed all the gold that it will, the plate is 
removed, and the amalgmn is scraped off, and a fresh 
coating of quicksilver is put on. Occasionally the 
blanket is rinsed out in a tub of water, which is poured 
back again into the box. The gold is taken from the 
amalgam by subliming the quicksilver, as before 
described. 

There ar» some stamps where the quicksilver is 
placed in the box in liquid form, and the whole mass of 
ore, water, and quicksilver, is agitated until an amalgam 
is formed. By this process, water is saved, — a desid- 
eratum in some localities. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 327 

I think from my description you can form a pretty 
good idea of a stamp-mill as seen in California. 

QUARTZ-MINING IN COLORADO. 

I saw a stamp-mill just like the one described^ at 
Black Hawk, in operation upon ore composed of quartz 
and gold and silver. But by far a majority of the Colo- 
rado ores cannot be worked in this manner at all ; for 
if the sulphides of iron or copper are present, then a 
very different process must be resorted to. Here lay the 
failures of so manj^ mining-enterprises in Colorado. In 
California, they say that professors and students have al- 
ways failed as miners, and that only practical miners 
have been successsfuL But here it was a professor, 
trained in a laboratory of a college, who found out 
by patient toil and study just what was required, and 
brought success out of a seeming ruin. At the Boston 
and Colorado Smelting- Works, at the head of which 
is Prof. Hill, you can see the ores of Colorado success- 
fully reduced. The ores from the mines are purchased 
by samples which are nicely assayed, and the value per 
ton thus determined. The ores are then placed in 
large heaps, in form of a pyramid, over a loose pile of 
firewood. A match is applied ; and, as the mass becomes 
heated, the sulphur is set free, and burns out. This 



328 • THE ATLANTIC 

process is called roasting ; and the sulphur supplies fuel 
for some three months in the usual sized piles. In 
making up a pile, the coarse is packed first, and over the 
outside the fine ore is covered ; then this ore, freed of 
the sulphur, is crushed, and is smelted in a furnace in a 
similar manner to iron ore ; and the product is a matte, 
which is composed of iron, copper, gold, and silver. In 
this form, a matte, it is transported to Swansea, Eng- 
land, where the final reduction takes place, and the sev- 
eral component products are saved. Experience has 
proved that there is a saving in having the matte sent 
to England, over reducing it in Colorado. This last 
process is a simple one, and could easily be done at the 
same place where the matte is produced. The secret 
rests in making the flux, as it is termed, so that a pro- 
duct freed entirely of sulphur may he produced. 

There are building large works at Georgetown, and 
others projected at Golden, to deal wrth these ores ; and, 
if they succeed, the mining-interests of Colorado will 
brighten, and those Eastern people who now have only 
a stock-certificate to show may not have, after all, made 
so poor an investment, when at i\ie\v friend^ s earnest so- 
licitation, they '^ invested in a gold-m.ineJ^ 

With all my reading, before I visited these sections 
where mining is carried on, I failed to get a correct 
understanding of the subject; and I hope I have so de- 



TO THE PACIFIC. 329 

scribed the operations, tliat my readers may have gained 
a general idea of the different kinds of mining, called 
placer, hydraulic, and quartz, and the difficulties which 
arise in treating Colorado ores. 

With this chapter I close my journeyings, and close 
my note-book. I trust my writing has not bean amiss ; 
for I have had before me continually one aim, — to give 
only correct information that would aid my readers in 
planning a trip from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and 
that they might know what to see, and how to see it. 



APPEE-DIOES. 

THE ROUTES TO THE YO-SEMITE. 

I. — YIA MARIPOSA. 

From San Erancisco, by rail, over the Central Pacific 
E-ailroacl, to Merced City. 

Thence by stage or carriage to Mariposa, forty-two 
miles. 

Thence by carriage to White and Hatch's, eleven 
miles. 

From here to Clark's, fourteen miles. 

Thence on horseback, to Alder Creek, six miles and a 
half; on to Empire Camp, three miles; thence to 
Westfall's Meadow ; thence to Inspiration Point, five 
miles, or to Glacier Point, seven miles ; from Inspi- 
ration Point to the Hotels, seven miles and a half to 
eight miles, or from Glacier Point, six miles and a 
half to seven miles and a half. 

331 



332 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 
II. VIA BIG OAK FLAT. 

By rail to Stockton, and thence to Copperopolis, thence 
by stage or carriage, by Chinese Camp and Big 
Oat Flat, to Gentry's ; thence by horseback down a 
steep trail to the Valley, seven miles and a half. 

III. VIA COULTERVILLE. 

By rail to Merced City ; thence by carriage, via Snel- 
ling's to Coulterville ; thence via Crane Flat to 
Gentry's, and by horseback into valley, seven miles 
and a half. 

Notes. — From Clark's, the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees is 
reached on horseback by a journey, in going and returning, of four- 
teen miles. 

The whole distance from San Francisco is not far from two 
hundred and fifty miles. 

Avoid dealing only with parties, or their authorized agents. Do 
not let the drivers carry you out of the way to serve ^o^eZ-keepers. 
A private carriage is generally more agreeable than the mail-stages. 
Go into the valley by way of Mariposa, and out by one of the other 
routes. Consult preceding pages. A carriage-road is building by 
way of Mariposa into the valley. 



TABLE OF THE ELEVATION OF PEAKS AND 
PASSES m SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS. 













Feet. 


Mono Pass 10,765 


Sonora Pass 










10,115 


Silver Mountain Pass 










8,793 


Carson Pass 










8,759 


Johnson Pass 










7,339 


Georgetown Pass . 










7,119 


Donner Pass 










7,056 


Henness 










6,996 


Yuba Gap 










6,642 


Mount Whitney . 










15,000 


Red State Peak . 










13,400 


Mount Pass 










13,227 


Castle Peak 










12,500 


Silver Mountain . 










10,934 


Wood's Peak 










10,552 


Pyramid Peak 










10,120 


Downieville Buttes 










8,400 


Onjumi 










8,378 



Note. — These elevations are taken from the Reports of the 
Geological Survey of the State of California. 

The Central Pacific Railroad crosses the Sierras by Donner Pass, 
and the road-bed at the summit is 7,042 feet, so that the original level 
of the pass was lowered only 14 feet, and the actual cutting-away was 
probably less than that. 

333 



334 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 



MOUNTAINS AROUND THE YO-SEMITE VALLEY. 



Height, 



Popular Names. 


Indian Name. 


Signification. 


feet. 


El Capitan, 
Cathedral Rocks, 


Tu-tock-a-mu-la, 
Poo-see-nah Chuck 
ka, 


TheCry of the Crane, 
i A large Acorn Cache, 


3,300 
2,660 


Three Brothers, 
Sentinel Rock, 
Royal Arches, 


Pom-pom-pa-sus, 

Loya, 

To-coy-ae, 


( Mountains playing 
f Leap-Frog, 

A Signal Station, 
^ An Indian Baby-Bas- 
l ket, 


3,830 
3,043 

1,800 


"Washington Column, 
South Dome, 


Hun-to, 
Te-sai-yak, 


The Watching Eye, 
( The Goddess of the 
I Valley, 


1,875 
4,737 


Rocks near Yo-Semite 
Fall, 


1 Um-mo, 


The Lost Arrow, 


3,000 


Glacier Point, 


Pa-til-li-ma, 




3,200 


Mt. Watkins, 






3,900 


Cloud's Rest, 






6,034 


Cap of Liberty, 
Mt. Starr King, 






4,000 
5,600 



THE WATERFALLS. 



The Bridal Veil, 

Yo-Semite, 

Vernal, 

Nevada, 

South Fork Fall, 



Po-ho-no, 

Yo-ham-e-ta, 

Pi-wy-ack, 

Yo-wi-ye, 

Il-lil-ou-ette, 



Spirit of Night-Wind, 
Great Grizzly Bear, 
Sparkling "Water, 
Twisting Water, 
The Beautiful, 



2,634 
350 

700 
600 



Note. —To compare these altitudes, Niagara Falls, 164 feet on American 
Bide, 150 on Canadian side. Mt. "Washington, 6,224 feet. A mile, 5,280 feet. 
Valley level, 4,000 feet, which must be added to the elevations given of the 
mountaias to find altitude above the ocean. 



THE YO-SEMITE DECLAEED A NATIONAL 
PAEK. 

In 1864 Congress enacted, that the "cleft, or gorge/' 
in the Granite Peak of the Sierras — estimated in length 
fifteen miles, with its various spurs and caiions, and one 
mile back from the edge of the precipice on all sides — 
be granted to the State of California ; " that the said State 
shall accept this grant upon express conditions that the 
premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recrea- 
tion ; shall be inalienable for all time ; but leases not 
exceeding ten years may be granted for portions of said 
premises." Under this act, and that of California con- 
firming and accepting the trust, commissioners were 
appointed, who took possession of the valley. 

Mr. J. M. Hutchings has resisted their right to take 
possession, and resorted to the law courts, as well as to 
legislature and Congress. Upon a final hearing of 
this cause before the Supreme Court of the United 
States, and after full consideration, the Court has made 
its decision, confirming the grant to California, and de- 
claring the title of Hutchings void. They lay down the 

335 



336 THE ATLANTIC 

following law, which, applied to the facts relative to all 
the settlements now made there, would seem to settle 
the matter beyond all question, and thus make this val- 
ley a national park. 

SUPREME COURT, U.S. 

No. 435. December Term, 1872. 

J. M. HuTCHiNGS, Plaintiff in Error ^ In Error to the Supreme 
V. > Court of the State of 

F. F. Low and others, Commissioners, &c. ) California. 

1. A party, by settlement upon lands of the United States with a 
declared intention to obtain a title. to the same under the pre-emp- 
tion laws, does not thereby acquire such a vested interest in the 
premises as to deprive Congress of the power to divest it, by a grant, 
to another party. 

2. The power of regulation and disposition over the lands of the 
United States, conferred upon Congress by the Constitution, only 
ceases, under the pre-emption laws, when all the preliminary acts 
prescribed by those laws for the acquisition of the title, including 
the payment of the price of the land, have been performed by the 
settler. When these prerequisites have been complied Avith, the set- 
tler, for the first time, acquires a vested interest in the premises oc- 
cupied by him, of which he cannot be subsequently deprived. He 
then is entitled to a certificate of entry from the local land-oflScers, 
and ultimately to a patent for the land from the United States. 
Until such payment and entry, the pre-emption laws give to the set- 
tler only a privilege of pre-emption in case the lands are offered for 
sale in the usual manner ; that is, the privilege to purchase them, in 
that event, in preference to others. 



TO THE PACIFIC. 337 

3. The United States, by the pre-emption laws, do not enter into 
any contract with the settler, or incur any obligations, that the land 
occupied by him shall ever be put up for sale. 

They simply declare by those laws, that, in case any of their 
lands are thrown open for sale, the privilege to purchase them in 
limited quantities, at fixed prices, shall be first given to parties who 
have settled upon and improved them. The legislation thus adopt- 
ed for the benefit of settlers was not intended to deprive Congress of 
the power to make any other disposition of the lands before they 
are offered for sale, or to appropriate them to any public uses. 

6. The a€t of Congress of June 30, 1864, granting the Yo-Semite 
Valley and the Mariposa Big-Tree Grove to the State of California, 
passed the title of these premises to the State, subject to the trust 
specified therein, that they should be held for public use, resort, and 
recreation, and be inalienable for all time. 

29 



HETCH-HETCHY VALLEY. 

For the benefit of those tourists who desire to extend 
their journey, and behold more of the beautiful scenery 
of the Sierras, I will mention Hetch-Hetchy Valley. It 
is reached by a good mountain-trail from Hardin's 
Ranch, which is situated on the route to the Yo-Semite 
by way of Big-Oak Flat. A visit to this valley will 
amply repay the time and fatigue, and show, that, out of 
the usual routes of travel, there is scenery grand and 
imposing, — another valley, almost another Yo-Semite. 

Mr. John Muir thus describes it as seen in his visit 
there in jSTovember last : — 

"This valley is situated on the Main Tuolumne River, 
just as Yo-Semite is on the Merced. It is about 
three miles in length, with a width varying from an 
eighth to half a mile. Most of its surface is level as 
a lake, and lies at an elevation of thirty-eight hundred 
feet above the sea. Its course is mostly from east to 
west ; but it is bent northward in the middle, like Yo- 
Semite. At the end of the valley, the river enters a 
338 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 339 

narrow canon, which cannot devour the spring floods suf- 
ficiently fast to prevent the lower half of the valley from 
becoming a lake. Beginning at the west end of the 
valley, where Hardin trail comes in, the first conspicu- 
ous rocks on the right are a group like the Cathedral 
Rocks in Yo-Semite, and occupying the same relative 
position to the valley. The lowest member of the group, 
which stands out well isolated above, exactly like the 
corresponding rock of the Yo-Semite group, is, according 
to State geological survey, about twenty-two hundred 
and seventy feet in height. The two highest members 
are not so separate as those of Yo-Semite. They are 
best seen from the top of the wall, a mile or two farther 
east. On the north side of the valley there is a vast 
perpendicular rock-front eighteen hundred feet high, 
which resembles El Capitan of Yo-Semite. In spring 
a large stream pours over its brow, with a clear fall of at 
least a thousand feet. East of this, on the same side, 
is the Hetch-Hetchy Eall, occupying a position relative 
to the valley like that of Yo-Semite Eall. It is about 
seventeen hundred feet in height, but not in one unbro- 
ken fall. . . . The wall of the valley above this fall has 
two benches fringed with live-oak, which correspond 
with astonishing minuteness to the benches of the same 
relative portion of the Yo-Semite wall. . . . The sur- 
face of Hetch-Hetchy is diversified with groves and 



340 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIEIC. 

meadows in the same manner as Yo-Semite ; and the 
trees are identical in species. . . . We have no 
room here to discuss the formation of this valley : we 
will only state as our opinion that it is an inseparable 
portion of the great Glacier Canon of the Tuolumne, 
and that its level bottom is one of a chain of lake-basins 
extending throughout the canon, which have been, no 
great time ago, filled up with glacial drift. The Yo- 
Semite is a canon of exactly the same origin." 



TEEES AND PLANTS GROWING IN AND 
AEOUND THE YO-SEMITE VALLEY. 



Adiantum pedatum 
Aspidium argutum 
Acer macrophyllura 
A. glabrum . 
Aconitum nasubum 
Alnus viridis . 
Abies Douglasii . 
Azalea occidentalis 
Arctostaphylos glauca 
Adenostema fasiculata 

Boykinia occidentalis 
Bahia confertiflora 



Calamagrostis Canadensis 

Cheilanthes gracillima 

Comandra umbellata 

Chsenactis achilloefolia 

Cystopteris fragilis 

Cornus Nuttallii . 

Ceanothus integerrimus 
29* 



(The Douglas fir). 
(The swamp cheese). 
(Manzanita). 



341 



342 



THE ATLANTIC 



C. divaricatus 

Epilobium angustifolium 

Frangula Californica . 

Glyceria nervata . 

Hulsia brevifolia . 
Hellenium grandiflorum 
Hosackia grandiflora . 

Lilii .... 
Libocedrns decurrens . 

Nuphar advena 

Philadelphus Californicus 

Pinus ponderosa . 

P. contorta . 

P. aristata 

P. Jeffreyi . 

P. Sabiniana 

P. Lambertiana . 

P. Coulteri . 

Picea grandis 

Populus balsamifera 

Phragmites communis 
Pelloea densa 
P. Bridgesii . 
P. mucronata 
Polypodium Californicum 



(Many varieties). 

(The common yellow pond lily). 

(The yellow pine). 

(The pine found in the highest 
belt of vegetation in the Sier- 
ras). 

(Sugar pine). 

(The pine with the largest cone). 

(Balsam-poplar, mistaken for cot- 
ton-wood). 



TO THE PACIFIC. 



343 



Pentstemon laetus . 
Pteris aquilina 

Quercus tobata 

Q. Garry an a . 
Q. densiflora , 
Q. sonomensis 
Q. chrysolepsis 
Q. vaccinifolia 

Riiclbeckia Californica 
Rhamnus Menziesii 
Rubus Nutkanus . 
Rosa blanda . 
Rhus diversiloba . 

Sequoia gigantea . 
S. sempervirens 
Sidalcea malvaeflora 
Sphagnum . 
Spraguea umbellata 
Silene compacta . 

Tetranthera Californica 
Veratrum Californicuni 



(The brake seen in New England). 

(Tlie burr-oak ; looks much like a 

New-England elm). 
(White-oak). 
(Narrow-leaf oak). 
(The black-oak). 



(The raspberry). 
(The wild rose). 



(The big tree). 
(The redwood). 

("Peat moss). 



( The laurel, the wood of which is 
capable of a high polish). 



Notes. — It will be observed that most of the trees and plants 
named are not found east of the Mississippi. In the flowers, yel- 
low will be found to be a prevaiUng color. There are many poison- 



344 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

ous plants and shrubs, especially a shrub-oak ; and care must be 
taken to wear gloves when collecting specimens. The guides know 
little of botany ; and the popular names vary so in different locali- 
ties, that it is hard work to identify the plants. 

I trust my readers will not lose their collections as I did. I had 
collected many specimens, and had arranged them very carefully in 
the bureau in my room at the hotel, placing them nicely for preser- 
vation. One day soon after, when going to my room, I met the 
chambermaid on the stairs ; and she said, " I gave your room a good 
cleaning to-day, sir; and I took all the dry leaves and things out 
of your bureau." — " Where are they ? " I exclaimed, a feeling of 
pain coming over me. "I threw them away, sir! " I tried to ex- 
plain to her their value to me ; but, no doubt, that chambermaid is 

to-day at a loss to know why " the man in No. " filled up his 

bureau " with dry leaves and things." 

The attempts to introduce California plants into our gardens 
have been, for the most part, failures; and, even in our flower- 
houses, they do not seem to thrive. 



TEEES AND PLANTS OF THE EOCKY 
MOUNTAINS. 

The following list contains the principal trees and 
plants found in these mountains ; and for its complete- 
ness I am indebted to Capt. Berthoud, Chief Engineer 
of the Colorado Central Eailroad. 



Abronia fragrans . 
Acer circinatum ■ 
A. negundo . 
Achillea millefolium 
Aconitum reclinatum 
Aetata rubra . 
Aira pallcns . 
Allium triflorum . 
Alnus incana 
Amelanchier alnifolia 
Amphicarpcea monoica 
Anemone multifida 
A. Virginiana 
Aquilegia cerulea . 
Arabis falcata 
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi 



(Vine maple). 

(Box elder). 

(Common yarrow, or milfoil). 

(Monk's-hood). 

(Red baneberry). 

(Red -grass). 

(Onion, or leek). 

(Speckled alder). 

(June berry). 

(Wild-hog peanut). 

(Many-cleft anemone). 

(Wind-flower). 

(Blue columbine). 

(Rock-cress). 

(Trailing arbutus). 

845 



346 



THE ATLANTIC 



Arenaria 

Argemone Mexicana 
Arnica Montana . 
Artemisia Canadensis 
Aster NoviE-Angliae 
Astragalus caryocarpus 
A. filifolius . 
A. hypoglottis 
A. mollissimus 
A. plattensis . 

Berberis aquifolium 
Betula glandnlosa 

Ceanothus ovalis . 
Cerastium arvense . 
Cheiranthus Cheiri 
Chimaphilla maculata 
Clematis Viorna . 

C. Virginian a 
Convolvulus arvensis 
Corallorhiza multiflora 
Corydalis aurea . 
Cypripedium candidum 

Delphinium album 

D. menziessi . 
Dodecatheon meadia 
Draba verna . 



(Sandwort, several varieties). 

(Mexican poppy). 

(Arnica). 

(Wormwood, white sage). 

(Common New-England aster). 

(Milk-vetch). 



(Mahonia, blue barberry). 
(Rocky-mountain birch). 

(New- Jersey tea, or red-root) 

(Field chickweed). 

(Wall-flower, yellow). 

(Prince's-pine). 

(Leather-flower). 

( Common virgin's-bower) 

(Bindweed). 

(Coral-root). 

(Golden corydalis). 

(White lady's-slipper). 

(White larkspur). 
(Larkspur). 
(American cowslip). 
(Whitlow grass). 



Echinospernura Lappula 
Ellisia Nyctelea 
Epilobium spicatum 
Erigeron corapositum . 
Erysimum cheiranthoides 
Euphorbia corollata 

Frasera Carolinensis 

Gilia fragrans 
G. pulchella . 
G. rosea 
Glyceria 

Ipomea leptophylla 

Jamesia Americana 

Lilium Canadense 

Linnaea borealis . 

Linum Boottii 

L. percum 

Lippia cuneafolia . 

Lithospermum longiflorum 

Lupinus perennis . , 

Malva moschata . 
Mentha borealis . . 
M. piperita . 
M. viridis 



TO THE PACIFIC. 

(Stick-seed). 
(Willow-herb). 



347 



(Worm-seed mustard). 
(Flowering spurge). 

(American columbo). 



(Mountain shrub). 

(Wild yellow lily). 
(Twin flower). 
(Yellow flax). 
(Blue flax). 
(Fog-fruit). 

(Wild lupine). 

(Musk mallow). 
(Horsemint). 
(Peppermint). 
(Spearmint). 



348 



THE ATLANTIC 



Mertensia 
Mimulus Jamesii . 
Monescs unifiora . 

Nasturtium palustre 
Nycterum lobatum 

(Enothera 
Obione canescens . 

Pentstemon ceruleum 
Phlox Drummondii 
P. Subulata . 
Polemonium ceruleum 
Populus angulata . 
P. grandidentata . 
P. tremuloides 
Primula farinosa . 
P. rosea 

Eanunculus . 
Rhus aromatica . 
R. typhina . 
Ribes aureum 
Rubus Nutkanus . 

Scdum luteum 
Silene acaulis 
Sida cocciuea 
Spiriea opulifolia . 



(Lungwort). 

(Monkey-flower). 

(A very fragrant mountain flower). 

(Marsh-cress). 
(Yellow- weed). 

(In varieties). 



(Beard-tongue). 

(A showy annual of our gardens)- 

(Moss pink). 

(Valerian). 

(Bitter poplar). 

(Cottonwood). 

(American aspen). 

(Primrose). 



(Buttercup). 
(Fragrant sumach). 
(Staghorn sumach). 
(Buffalo or Missouri currant). 
(White flowering raspberry). 

(Stone moss). 
(Moss catchfly). 
(Red-flowering sida). 
(Meadow-sweet). 



TO THE PACIFIC. 



349 



Spiranthes cernua 

Thermopsis Montana . 
Tradcscantia Virginica . 



Verbena Aubletia 
V. bracteosa . 
Viola ciicullata 
V. palmata . 
V. pubeseens 
V. rotunditblia 

Yucca angustifolia 



(Ladies'-tresses). 

(Yellow pea). 
(Spiderwort). 

(Verbena). 

( Violet, — Heart's-ease) . 



(Soap-weed, resembles our garden 
Yucca, Y. filementosa). 



Note. — Many of the above plants will be recognized as favor- 
ites in our gardens. There are many plants not as yet identified 
and named, as there has been no complete flora made of the United 
States west of the Mississippi. You will observe how much more 
brilliant the blossoms of the same plant are up on the mountains 
than in the valleys. In the higher belts of vegetation, Nature has 
constructed her plants and trees to adapt them to their situation. 
Let me urge my readers to become acquainted with the trees and 
plants as they journey on ; for in them they will find true friends. 



TABLE OF ALTITUDES IN COLORADO. 

TAKEN FROM THE MOST ACCURATE SURVEYS. 

Feet. 

Denver 5,250 

Golden 6,200 

Central City 8,300 

Idaho 7,800 

Georgetown . 8,450 

Caribou 9,200 

Boulder 5,550 

Greeley 4,750 

Cheyenne 6,130 

Colorado City 6,350 

Pueblo 4,400 

Trinidad 5,800 

Tarryall 9,900 

Fairplay 10,000 

Twin Lakes 9,000 

Hot Springs in Middle Park 7,700 

Boulder Pass 11,700 

Berthoud Pass 11,020 

Argentine Pass 13,000 

Breckinridge Pass 11,000 

350 



I 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 351 

Feet. 

Long's Peak 14,300 

Gray's Peak 14,251 

Mount Lincoln 14,190 

Mount Harvard 14,270 

Mount Yale 14,078 

Pike's Peak 14,216 

Summit of Divide where Rio Grande Railway crosses . 7,040 



The extreme limit of timber-growth in this region is 
about eleven thousand feet above the sea, though, upon 
favorable exposures, it occasionally extends some hun- 
dreds of feet higher. That, however, is about the com- 
mon average. Elevations above that altitude all come 
under the common term of '^ snowy range," or " snowy 
peaks ; " and they hold more or less snow upon them the 
year round. They number, in Colorado, thousands of 
peaks ; and hundreds of them are of about the average 
height of the highest enumerated in the above para- 
graph. It is doubtful whether the loftiest have ever yet 
been measured. Lakelets forever covered with ice are 
common among their craggy summits. 



COLOKADO. — WEATHER RECOED AT 
DENVER FOR 1872. 





Highest. 


Lowest. 


Mean. 


Rain and Melted Snow. 


January, 


58 


—26 


22.7 


.84 


February, 


64 


—9 


34.7 


.29 


March, 


78 


4 


39.4 


2.44 


April, 


83 


25 


49 


2.38 


May, 


89 


35 


61.3 


3.21 


June, 


97 


49 


69 


1.58 


July, 


93 


54 


71 


2.42 


August, 


94 


52 


72 


1.71 


September, 


90 


35 


62 


1.47 


October, 


88 


19 


53.6 


1.30 


November, 


69 


—5 


35.8 


.81 


December, 


60 


—8 


28 


.32 



The rainfall in 1870 was 12.65 inches ; in 1871, 12.53 inches ; and, 
in 1872, 18.77 inches. 



OEES PUECHASED BY PEOFESSOE HILL. 

The Boston and Colorado Smelting Company, — better 
known as Prof. Hill's, — at Black Hawk, have, dur- 
ing 1872, purchased the following amounts of ore : 
From Clear Creek County, 2,100 tons, for which $320,- 
000 were paid; from Gilpin County, 6,950 tons, for 
which $178,000 were paid; and from Park County, 600 
tons, for which $88,000 were paid; making a total of 
9,650 tons, and $586,000. This amount of ore was re- 
duced to 640 tons of matte, which was shipped to Swan- 
sea, England. The average yield of the ore treated in 
1871 was $80 per ton ; and, estimating it at the same 
this year, the product of the works for 1872 have been 
$788,000. This would give an average value to the 
matte of about $1,230 per ton. 

353 



HISTOEY OF MINING IN COLOEADO. 

THE GENERAL FEATURES OF THE MINING REGION, ITS SITUATION, 
AND EXTENT, 

The region now embraced within the limits of Colo- 
rado first began to attract public attention in 1858. A 
party of miners from Georgia, under the leadership of 
Green Eussell, are credited with the first gold-discovery 
in what was then known as the " Pike's Peak Country." 
This discovery was made on Dry Creek, a few miles 
south of the present site of Denver, and was followed 
by others on Cherry Creek, and at difterent points 
along the Platte Eiver above the confluence of these two 
streams. Eeports of these discoveries, of course greatly 
exaggerated, were not long in reaching the Missouri 
Eiver ; and, immediately thereafter, excited gold-hunters 
began to wend their way towards the new Eldorado. 
The trials, vicissitudes, and sufferings of these early 
pioneers, have furnished abundant material for most 
thrilling history. 

The progress and development of the mining-interests 

354 



THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 355 

of this region are thus described by a gentleman^ a resi- 
dent in the mining-districts. 

The first important gold-discoveries were followed by 
a large influx of population to the mining-region. Dur- 
ing the first two years, operations were confined to the 
placers in various localities, and to the washing of sur- 
face dirt of a few gold lodes in the vicinity of what is 
now Central City. 

During the succeeding year, explorations were rapidly 
and widely extended ; and discoveries were made, at in- 
tervals, throughout the whole foot-hill region, from 
Wyoming (then Nebraska) on the north, to New 
Mexico on the south, — a distance of more than three 
hundred miles. This mining-region has a width vary- 
ing from forty to sixty miles^ hence including about 
fifteen thousand square miles. Subsequent explorations 
and developments have established the following facts 
relative to this great mining-region of Colorado ; viz., — 

First, that the plain country adjacent to and along 
the entire length of the eastern base of the mountains 
is underlaid with inexhaustible beds of coal, of the 
lignite class, which is of such superior quality as to 
adapt it for all requisite uses, whether for steam, smelt- 
ing, or domestic purposes. Some of these coal-deposits 
are found in horizontal, others in vertical beds, varying 
in thickness from fifteen inches to fifteen feet. Border- 



356 THE ATLANTIC 

ing these coal-measures are deposits of fire-clay, equal 
in quality to any in the world, and in quantities suffi- 
cient to supply the wants of the nation. The same helt 
furnishes supplies of limestone, sandstone, gypsum, and 
iron ore. This is the outlying belt of the mineral 
region. 

Second, that the lower foot-hills, for a distance of 
ten or twenty miles from the plains, are traversed by 
copper-bearing veins, in nearly all of which a trace of 
gold or silver, or of both, is found, and in paying 
quantities in some of them ; and. 

Third, that back of these, extending to the Snowy 
Range, and including some districts bej^ond the range, 
are found the great gold and silver bearing veins, which, 
together with the placers, have hitherto constituted the 
bullion-producing source of Colorado. These veins ex- 
tend east and west, showing many changes of char- 
acter in different localities, and are believed to exist 
along the range, with possibly some interruptions, 
from the northern to the southern boundary of Colo- 
rado. Previous to 1865, the region of country immedi- 
ately surrounding Central City was the great gold-pro- 
ducing section, by its placer and lode mines. The only 
other sections of Colorado which produced gold were 
Park, Lake, and Summit Counties, where rich placer- 
mines were and are yet worked successfully. Tlie 



TO THE PACIFIC. 357 

mines worked in these sections were gold-mines, pro- 
ducing gold containing but little silver. In 1865, how- 
ever, rich silver lodes were discovered in Summit 
County ; and in 1866 others in Clear Creek County, 
more particularly in the vicinity of Georgetown. The 
latter have so steadily increased in production, as to 
make them the great rival of the gold-mines of Gilpin 
County in the production of the precious metals, [n 
1870, in Boulder County, silver-lodes were discovered, 
and worked up to this date successfully. In the au- 
tumn of 1871 extensive deposits of silver-ore were 
opened up in Park County ; also gold and silver mines 
in Conejos County. 

Nearly all the gold-veins carry a large amount of 
silver ; many of the silver-veins carry some gold ; and 
others carry copper, lead, and zinc. A large area of 
the mineral region has not yet been explored ; and new 
discoveries are made every year. 

Lack of an economical and intelligent system of 
mining, lack of reasonable and adequate reduction 
works, excess of prodigal and unscientific experiments, 
and lack of railroad facilities, have, in times past, mili- 
tated against the profits of mining in Colorado. All 
these impediments have either disappeared, or are 
rapidly disappearing. Mining has been systematized, 
and is conducted far more economically than hitherto. 



358 THE ATLANTIC 

The cost of reducing refractory ores has declined from 
$75 to $25 per ton. The completion of extensive 
smelting- works, already projected at the base of the 
mountains, will make a still further improvement in 
this particular. Railways are completed, and in opera- 
tion, to and along the base of the mountains, and are 
in process of construction to the very heart of the min- 
ing centres. 

Finally, unlike many other mining-regions, this 
entire belt is well wooded an-d watered. Situated 
under the shadow of the Snowy Range, summer 
showers fall upon it; and the streams are constantly 
swollen during the summer by the melting snows. 
The thousand little valleys among the foot-hills up to 
the Range are fertile ; and the grassy glades afford the 
finest pasturage in the world. The season is short for 
the cultivation of cereals ; but soil and climate are un- 
excelled in adaptation to the dairy, the growth of vege- 
tables, and culture of small fruits. 

Gilpin County, the smallest in extent of all the coun- 
ties, and, perhaps, least adapted to agriculture, had, dur- 
ing the past season, thirteen hundred and twenty acres 
of land under successful cultivation, — this apart froui 
the grazing-lands. 

Aside from tliis belt, which has been briefly outlined, 
there are kuowJi to be deposits of gold and silver in the 



TO THE PACIFIC. 359 

parks, and beyond the Snowy Range. There may be 
mines as rich, perhaps richer, west of the region de- 
scribed than any yet discovered within it. That region 
is yet to be explored and prospected. 

In addition to the mines above noted, there are, in 
various parts of the Territory, soda and salt springs, from 
which an almost unlimited yield might be derived, and 
some of which liave already been made available. As 
soda and salt are botli used in the reduction of ores, 
their presence in tlie Territory is of great importance 
in connection wjth the mining-interest. When it is 
taken into consideration that Colorado has had no other 
exportation than from her mines, since the settlement 
of the Territory, it cannot fail to impress the reader 
with their immense wealth, and how important an in- 
fluence their present highly-successful developments 
are having on her rapid and unexampled growth and 
prosperity. Their present yield has been nearly 
doubled in the past two years. 



INDEX. 



A. 

Almaden Quicksilver Mines, The, 156. 
Appendices, 331. 

B. 
Bluff City at first sight, 15. 
Battle Mountain Station, 52. 
Bower Cave, 207. 
Black-Hawk, The city of, 308. 
Big Trees, 173, 203. 

C 

California, The season of the year to make the journey, 226. 

California, Summary view of, 283. 

Calistoga, The " Saratoga "^f the Pacific, 127. 

Canon, The great American, 59. 

Cape Horn, 65. 

Central, City of, 307. 

Chinese, The, 99. 

Clear Creek and Canon, 311. 

Clifi" House and the Road, 78. 

Colorado Central Raih-oad, 3ul. 

" " " up to Creek Canon, 318. 

" Central Railroad, Influence of, 3, '7. 

" Geographical limits, and location of, 292. 

" Climate and Parks of, 318. 

" Society in, 320. 

" Ores, Treatment of, 308. 
Continent, Across the, 289. 
Corinne, The town of, 47. 

31 361 



362 INDEX. 



Council Bluffs, 15, 272. 

Coulterville to Merced, Stage ride back through, 207. 

Crane Flat, 203. 

D. 
Denver, First view of, 291. 

" Its history and situation, 296. 

" Railroad down to, 291. 

" Road from, to the mines, 303. 
Devil's Inkstand, The, 137. 
Donner Lake, 56. 

E. 
Echo and Weber Caiiou, 32. 
Erie Road, The, 8. 
Evanston, 31. 
Evans, The town of, and its characteristics, 294. 



FASHIONABLE people travelling, 177. 

G. 

Gate, The Golden, 81. 
Gentry's, The trail up to, 202, 
Georgetown, 314. 
Geysers, The Great, 134. 

" The steamboat, 138. 

" The ride up to the Great, 134. 
Goat Island, 113. 
Golden, The city of, 300. 

" Mechanical enterprises of, 315. 
Greeley, The town of, 293. 



H. 



Hetch-Hetchy Valley, 338. 
Homeward, The start, 240. 
Hotel on wheels, A, 240. 
Humboldt River, The, 50. 
Hydraulic mining, 61. 

Idaho Springs, 311. 

Iowa, A ride through Northern, 11. 



JURY, The Woman, 28. 



INDEX. 363 



K. 
King, Starr, A tribute to the memorj' of, 93. 

L. 

Laramie, City of, 27. 

" Great and Little Plains of, 28. 

Letters, General plan of the, 7. 

" Object of the series of, 288. 

M. 
Mariposa, 168. 

*' Grove of big trees, 173. 

Merced City, 164. 

Mining towns, peculiar expressions, 317. 
Missouri River, 270. 

'• " Bridge, 274. 

Mountains, The Eocky, 24. 
Mountain view, Grand, 2U7. 
Mormons, The, their houses of worship and schools, 38. 

N. 
Napa Valley, 119. 

" city and its gardens, 121. 
Nevada Caiion, 194. 
" Falls, 196. 

O. 

Omaha, The city of, at first sight, 15. 

" " " at second sight, 267. 

Ogden, 34. 

" The trip to, 42, 

P. 

Pacific Union, The, what is seen upon the first day's journey, 19. 

" Railroad, The Union, how it was built, 255. 

" " The building of the Central, 246. 

" " The Central and Union, comparison between, 2.56. 

Palisades, The, 51. 

Park, National, The Yo-Semite declared a, 338. 
Plan, General, of the letters, 7. 
Point, Highest railroad, on the continent, 26. 

Q- 
Quartz-Mining in California, 324. 



364 INDEX. 

R. 
RALSTON'S, A day at, 230. 
Reno, 53. 

Routes, The several from the East to Chicago, 8. 
" The three from Chicago to Omaha, 9. 

S. 
Sabbath, The, in the Rocky Mountains, 30. 
Sacramento, The city of, 67. 

" A ride from, to Oakland, opposite San Francisco, 68. 

Salt Lake City, Situation, people, and buildings of, 3a. 
Salt Lake. The, 48. 
San Francisco, Arrival in, 72. 

«• " First day in, 73. 

" " Sunday in, 75. 

" *' Impressions after a week in, 86. 

" " What is seen from Oakland WTiarf at, 87, 

" " Streets of the city of, 90. 

" " Architecture and churches of, 91. 

" " Gardens, plants, and trees of. 94. 

" '' School and manufacturing interests of, 95. 

" " Banks aad currency of, 97. 

" " Horse-cars in, 98. 

" " The Chinese in, 99. 

" '' Hotels, people, and amusements of. 106. 

" " Art and the artists of, 111. 

" " The future of, 117. 

Santa Clara, Valley of, 144. 
San Josfe, City of, 148. 
Seal Rock and the lions, 80. 
Sherman, 26. 
Sight, a strange, 83. 

Sierra Nevada Mountains, elevation of peaks and passes of, 233. 
Smelting Works, Prof. Hill's, 306. 
Stations, Colfax, Auburn, and Rocklin, 65. 
Stockton, 215. 

Sulphur Springs, White, 124. 
Surveys, The several, made to determine the routes for a railroad, 262. 

T. 
Table of the elevation of iieaks and passes in the Sierra Nevada Moun- 
tains, 333. 
Travelling in California, What to wear in, 222. 



INDEX. 365 



Trees and Plants in Yo-Scmitc Valley, 341. 
<' " of Rocky Mountains, 345. 

Truckee Region, The, 56. 
Tuolumne, South, grove of big trees, 204. 

U. 

Utah, Future of, 45. 

V. 

Vernal Palls, 195. 

Valedictory, 287. 

W. 

Wahsatcii Mountains, 82. 

West, Advice to those intending to go, 285. 

Wyoming, Territory of, 27, 291. 

Y. 

Young, Briguam, 44. 
Yo-Seraite, To the, 161. 

" Valley, Routes to the, 162. 

*• Trails from Clark's into the, 179. 

" Mountain-peaks of, 188. 

Fall, The, 187. 

" Valley, Flowers, trees, and shrubs of, 201. 

" Routes to, via Mariposa, 3.31. 

" " to, via Big-Oak Flat, .332. 

" " to, via, Coulterville, 332. 

" Valley, Mountains around the, .334. 

" The, declared a national park, 335. 

" Valley, Trees and plants growing in and around the, 341. 

31* 



OCCIDENTAL HOTEL, 

Montgomery Si., San Francisco, CaL 



THE OCCIDENTAL HOTEL 

Is located on ^Montgomery Street, the fashionable promenade of the 
city, and has a frontage of 275 feet, extending from Bush to Sutter 
Street, by a depth of 168|- feet. The hotel is four stories high, 
and is one of the most substantial buildings in California. The 
foundation walls are six to eight feet thick, of the best quality of 
cut stone, laid in cement and lime. The hotel contains 

4. 1 2 ROOMS. 

Several of the Private Suites have Bath-Eooms and Closets 
within each Suite. 

There are also BATH-ROOMS on every floor. 

The hotel is furnished with the latest and most improved styles 
of furniture. 

The table is always plentifully supplied with the choicest fruits, 
and all the delicacies which an abundant market can furnish. 

There is a splendid billiard-room and bar-room, a steam laundry, 
barber's shop, and all the other appointments necessary for a first- 
class hotel, connected with this establishment. 

One of Otis Brothers' 

PASSENGER ELEVATORS, 
of the latest improved style, has lately been placed in the hotel, near 
the office, and runs from 6, a.m., to 12, p.m., for the accommodation 
of the guests. 



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